


The Town with Magic

by TsunaNoble



Series: Umi no Musuko [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Crossover, F/M, Gen, M/M, Magic, risky move on my part, some spoilers for season 4, takes place after OUAT episode The Cricket Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-06-23
Packaged: 2018-03-20 16:04:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3656517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TsunaNoble/pseuds/TsunaNoble
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During his months for searching for his brother Percy, the son of Susanoo Tsuna Noble ends up in the most curious, quaint town called Storybrooke</p><p>Waking up in the hospital, Tsuna is taken in by the town's sheriff while he recovers. It is during his stay that he notices that everything is not as it seems, and he encounters a power unlike what he has experienced.</p><p>Despite all this, one thing sticks to Tsuna's mind:</p><p>Where is Percy?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Percy's Enemy is Now My Enemy

**Author's Note:**

> So...This has to be my riskiest move in the Umi no Musuko series. It has been something I have been thinking about since I started watching Once Upon a Time a year and a half ago, and I thought it would make sense in the PJ&O franchise.
> 
> I hope you'll guys enjoy it none the less, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to post this first chapter sooner than I expected. Reasons being that with my college classes and my *hopefully* new job, I don't know how often I'm going to get to write.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy, this is most likely going to be my most risky story of the Umi no Musuko franchise.

            I hate running through woods. There’s always that one root that trips you up when you’re being chased by monsters. And by monsters I mean those terrible snake women, the Scythian Dracanae. They’ve been coming after me for the last couple of days. Can’t they just leave me alone? I’m just trying to find my brother.

            My brother, you may have heard of him. Percy Jackson: son of Poseidon, savior of Olympus, and most importantly to me my adopted brother. He disappeared right when our Christmas Break started, taken from the safest place in the world for demigods, Camp Half Blood. No one has a clue as to who or why someone would take one of the greatest heroes in history.

            It’s been three and a half months since anybody has last seen him. Annabeth Chase, Percy’s girlfriend and a good friend of mine, was absolutely wrecked the last time I saw her, but not as much as Sally. I was the one who told her the bad news and it just broke my heart to do it. She cried into Paul’s arms for the rest of that terrible day. I left them that night, leaving a note promising her and swearing on the River Styx that I would bring her son back safe and sound.

            During my quest to find Percy I went all across New York and a few other states until I met up with the son of Hades himself. Nico di Angelo, my best friend in the entire world, has been helping me in the search for a while now. His Shadow Travel abilities let us cover a lot more ground than when I was by myself. We went up and down the Eastern Seaboard and all the way to Louisiana. We were back in Maine before we separated. It was after he took a trip to Camp to get a restock in Nectar and Ambrosia.

            I didn’t want to separate from him, but he said that he had an idea as to where Percy might show up and that I shouldn’t go with him. Admittedly I was pissed beyond a reasonable doubt and still a little ticked off right now, but if it was the only way Nico could follow through with his lead I agreed to it. I haven’t seen Nico since then, and that was a little more than a week ago.

            And with these snake women coming after me I really wished Nico was with me. Not only because it was four against one and I would like his company, but because these monsters just wouldn’t die. I know what you’re thinking, ‘Why aren’t you using your fancy sword Tsuna?’ Well I have been using the Kusanagi (which I’ve started calling it by its true name, the Ame no Murakumo.) Magical Metals are the only materials that can even hurt monsters remember? I guess I should rephrase my complaint. The Scythian Dracanae won’t _stay_ dead.

            I have stabbed them through their hearts, decapitated them, even pulled a Monty Python’s Black Knight and cut off their limbs. But they reform before completely turning into the monster dust that’s usually left over after you kill them. Maybe if I had Nico with me his dominion over all things death would make them stay dead, at least for a few months instead of the half a second it has been. I haven’t even slept since these things caught my scent, and that was four, almost five, days ago…at least, I think it was, everything is starting to blur together at this point.

            Anyway, back to what I was talking about earlier. I was running through some random forest in Maine being chased by the snake women. One of them came at me from my side with a sword that looked like it was made of gold. I was able to block it but I lost my footing and twisted my ankle. I clutched it after I fell.

The Scythian Dracanae laughed at my pain. “Aww, the poor little demigod twisssted hisss ankle.” I had enough of that hiss talk with the Orochi. “Ssshall we end hisss pain sssissstersss?”

“Oh yesss.” one of them said.

“Why did we think he wasss the ssson of Possseidon?” another asked. “We’ve wasssted all thisss time hunting him.”

“He might not be Jackssson, but our Missstresss would enjoy having him asss a plaything.” said another. “Imagine how we would be rewarded.”

“You’re hunting down Percy?” I asked. “Why?”

“None of your bussssinesssss.” The leader of this group of snakes said. “Tie him up sssissstersss.”

            The other Scythian Dracanae laughed as they pulled out some rope. I sliced at any one of them that came close, but it was really hard to defend myself while I had a twisted ankle. One of the snake women jabbed me with the butt of her spear. After being knocked to the ground the Snake women grabbed my wrists and started tying me up.

**_Caaww!!_ **

            Thank gods I always have a friend nearby. Yatagarasu, the three legged messenger of the Shinto gods, has been traveling with me ever since I started to look for Percy. And ever since he came with me from Japan he has been watching out for me. He dove through the trees and clawed at their faces. With this distraction I rammed my sword through the chest of a Scythian Dracanae, but not before her sword grazed my side just under my ribs.

            I clutched my side, and when I stood up pain shot through my leg. It was going to be hard to run away. I could heal it, but it would take time for me to access the Yasakani no Magatama’s power, let alone more concentration I was willing to give up right now. I ran as fast as I could with a twisted ankle, trying to put as little weight as possible on it. With my connection to the sea I could sense that I was close to the coast, but not close enough.

            Yatagarasu caught up to me and, clutching my shoulders, flew me away from the snake women. When we were far enough he let me down gently. I hobbled over to a tree and slid down its trunk to rest. I looked down to see blood staining through my jacket.

“ _The cut must be deeper than I thought_.” I thought to myself before pulling my shirt up to look at the wound better. It wasn’t fatally deep, but it might need stitches if I can’t heal myself soon. Yatagarasu walked over to me and nudged at my wound before hoping on my knees to poke at the Magatama so I could heal myself. “I know Yata. Thanks for the concern.”

            I reached for the Magatama, only to hear to a twig snap. My demigod reflexes kicked in, so I jumped up. I didn’t even care about my sprained ankle or the cut to my side. I was just ready to defend myself from whatever monster decided to sneak up on me. But when I jumped out from the other side of the tree there wasn’t a monster standing there.

            It was a wolf. The most _beautiful_ wolf I have ever seen. Its fur was mostly white along its underside. The back of its fur was a dark grey. I’ve always loved wolves, not as much as foxes, but they have always been one of my favorite animals. What was weird was that it didn’t react to me almost attacking it with my sword. It just stared at me with a calm expression.

“Hey there boy.” I said as I had my sword go back to its ring form. “What are you doing here?”

            The wolf just kept staring at me before walking closer to me. I backed up, not really sure if it was going to attack me or not. Yatagarasu wasn’t helping, because he just stared at the wolf. But all the wolf did was sniff at me. It looked up at me before turning away. Before it got went out of sight it looked back at me and let out a whine. Did it want me to follow it?

            It was either follow the wolf, or let the Scythian Dracanae find and kill me. Gee, I wonder which one I’m going to choose. Yatagarasu didn’t stop me, so I guess that he trusted the wolf enough. I hobbled after the wolf, all the while hearing the monsters howling and yelling. I tried to hurry after it, but my ankle was starting to really hurt, and the cut felt like it was getting worse.

            The wolf would stop after a couple of minutes so I would keep up. As much as I appreciated it, I was suspicious. It could be leading me to a trap. Wild animals are never this generous, as far as I know. But it seemed friendly. It led me and Yatagarasu to an open road. There was a town sign up ahead, though it was too far away for me to see what town I was being led to. At least I’ll be able to get some help and restock on some supplies.

            The wolf started growling and its fur was on end. It freaked me out because I thought it was going to attack me and rip my throat out. But Yatagarasu started squawking at something from behind me. Before I had a chance to turn around I was grabbed by something big.

            It had huge fists, just large enough to wrap around my shoulders. The hands seemed human, but they were connected to something that smelled like a barn. The creature roared, and brought me close to its face. It’s bull face.

“The Minotaur?!” I yelled as I struggled against the monster’s grip. “I thought Percy killed you!”

            The Minotaur roared at the mention of Percy’s name. He must hate my brother. Well, Percy did kill him twice. But why is he even here? He should be stuck in Tartarus. The Minotaur snorted and started to walk away from the wolf. I wasn’t going to let this thing kidnap me, so I brought out my sword and thrust it through the monsters wrist.

            It roared loudly before it threw me. As I went flying I saw the town sign getting closer. Oh, this is going to hurt. I heard Yatagarasu caw and saw it fly passed me. When I hit the sign, I vaguely noticed how it didn’t hurt quite as much as I thought hitting a solid wood sign would be. I rolled over and was clutching my sides in pain. I had to have a couple of ribs broken. I prayed that nothing was punctured.

            Amidst the pieces of wood was Yatagarasu. He was lying on the ground making wheezing noises with each breath. He must have flown between me and the sign to cushion the impact. The idiot. I picked him up as gently as I could, cradling him close to my chest, and saw that his left wing was broken.

The Minotaur roared. “Take one step closer and get deep fried.” I warned it.

            The bull headed (Ha, what a pun) creature stepped closer. I gritted my teeth and used my powers to summon a lightning bolt. It took a lot of out of me, but that lightning bolt hit right in front of the Minotaur. It snorted but backed up.

“If you or the snakes follow me, I will make you crispier than KFC, got it?” I said. The Minotaur roared, but it didn’t come any closer. “Who knew you could listen.”

            I gently cradled Yatagarasu to my chest and hobbled to the closest town, feeling incredibly dizzy from the lightning bolt. I fought through the pain, feeling my blood trickle down my side. I tried to get the Magatama to activate so it would heal the two of us but it never turned on. Why start having a mind of its own now? Come on Aunt Ameterasu!

            When I arrived in the town nothing was open. Given the time at night I wasn’t surprised. But how was I supposed to get help now? I walked down Main Street, looking for any help. There were all these stores that were closed for the night. I was half tempted to break into one to rest up but they could have alarms, and trying to explain to the police why a beaten and bloodied teenager with an injured bird is breaking into a store was something I did not want to explain.

            I saw a bird bath in what appeared to be a patio of a diner. The lights were on inside, so someone had to be inside. But first I had to take care of Yatagarasu. I laid him down in the water, and after sticking my hand in it I focused it to heal Yatagarasu of his injuries. The water climbed up his body, and after a few minutes it flowed off of him. He looked surprised to be healed. He chirped in gratitude before pecking at the Magatama again.

“I can’t Yata.” I said. “It’s not working for some reason. And the water in there isn’t enough to heal me.” He chirped again with concern. “It’ll be okay. Trust me.”

            With that I started hobbling to the door of the diner. Granny’s Diner, if I’m reading the neon sign correctly. What a weird name. I think there was a party going on with all the noise that I was hearing. But as I reached for the door it opened on its own. A woman with shoulder length black hair, who looked very professional and business-y, was standing in the doorway.

            But her visage blurred until she looked drastically different. She was wearing a black dress that looked queenly. It also looked vicious, with tight black leather and an authority of power radiating off of her. It made my head hurt. It hurt so much that everything started spinning and I fell into the woman’s arms.

“Oh my god! Swan!” cried the woman. She set me down on the floor. “Someone call an ambulance!” And with that I passed out, the voices of the other people of the diner fading out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated.
> 
> Also, please check out my superhero AU story The Rise of Riptide from my new side series The Olympians and tell me what you think.


	2. Welcome to Storybrooke

            Well, this is embarrassing. I never thought starting a fire would be so hard. I’ve been trying to light this thing for the past half an hour. The snow wasn’t helping. It was falling pretty heavily and making it difficult to light the fire.

“You still working on that?” I looked up to see Nico coming out of our tent. He let out a laugh that made my heart feel warm. “What’s taking so long?”

“Not all of us have lived out in the wilderness Neeks.” I said.

“Or maybe you just have no skills when it comes to camping.” Nico said.

“Gee, thanks Nico.” I said. “If that’s how it is I guess I’ll leave.”

“Don’t be a baby.” said the son of Hades. I huffed and went back to starting the fire. A minute later Nico was squatting next to me laughing under his breath. “Here, let me help.” His hands gripped mine and he showed me how to start a fire. I started blushing like crazy.

After the fire was going I went over to grab some food for us. “I hope you like beef jerky, cause that’s pretty much all we have left until we get to the next town.”

“Really?” Nico asked. “That’s all we have left?”

“Well,” I said as dug deeper in the bag, “We have a few marshmallows left, but that’s about it.”

“I can always Shadow Travel us to the next town so we can resupply.” he offered.

I shook my head. “We can’t risk it. You’ll be exhausted, and we’re going to need you as alert as possible with the increased monster attacks.”

“Jerky and marshmallows it is then.” Nico said. He stood closer to the fire and rubbed his hands together. He stood there trying to get warm.

“Hey, Nico…” I said as I got an idea.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“If…if you’re trying to get warm, we could…sit…next to…each…other.” I said, feeling my face burning up. Nico’s eyes went wide. “Just to keep us warm, nothing else.”

            Nico stared at me questioningly for a few moments before nodding. Smiling, I grabbed a blanket from the tent and wrapped it around our shoulders when he sat down. It was peaceful, and an all-around beautiful moment it time. The stars were shining through the trees and the moon was bathing us in its light. I wanted to freeze it, just to spend more time with Nico.

            Ever since we grouped together to look for Percy, Nico and I have gotten a lot closer. It was nice, getting to know him better. He talked to me about his sister Bianca, something he never did before we went to Japan. He even told me how he was slowly getting back some of his memories, like how his mother Maria took him and Bianca to Split, Croatia and how Maria would take him on walks along the Venetian Canals. I was happy for him, I really was, but I still wanted to make new memories with him like I promised.

            After eating our crappy dinner we decided to roast the rest of our marshmallows. As we sat there eating the snacks, I couldn’t help but take notice of Nico. It was like I was hyper aware of everything that was Nico di Angelo. His smell, his breaths, his slightest movements. I noticed all of it. Even the little bit of marshmallow on the corner of his lips. I reached over and wiped it off with my thumb.

“What’s wrong Tsuna?” he asked. I realized that I was staring into his eyes. I gulped and let out an uncomfortable chuckle.

“N...Nothing…” I said, but I didn’t look away from his eyes. My heart was beating a mile a minute, and the next thing I knew I was leaning down. At this point, I didn’t give a damn about the consequences.

            All of a sudden the ground shook like crazy. Instantly both Nico and I stood up. The snow had stopped but the sky looked frighteningly darker. The forest felt dead. There was this cracking noise, and before I knew it a large crack split the earth, dividing me and Nico. The crack kept growing bigger by the second. The ground started shaking even more, breaking apart the ground Nico was standing on until there was only a column beneath his feet. And it was getting smaller by the minute.

“Nico jump over!” I yelled. “Please, you can make it!”

            Nico nodded. He stood back as far as the remaining column would allow before breaking out into a run. He jumped once he hit the edge. He was going to make it. He was going to make it! I reached out so I could catch him. But as the tips of our fingers grazed each other, something from the dark pit from below grabbed Nico in the middle of the air. There was this laughing in the background, and it sounded like it belonged to a woman’s. And…it sounded like it was coming from the earth itself.

“Tsuna...” Nico said, staring me right in my eyes. His were filled with tears and fear. In that moment of terror, everything seemed to freeze. It dragged out the torture.

“Nico…” I said. And then Nico was dragged into the darkness. “NICO!!!!”

“Calm down kid!”

            I was shook awake. I was drenched in sweat and breathing hard. A hand was placed on my shoulder and I jumped. Backing away from it I saw that the hand belonged to a blonde woman wearing a red leather jacket. At that moment I felt a lot of pain in my sides.

“It’s okay, nobody is going to hurt you.” she said. She gingerly laid her hands on my shoulders and laid me back down.

“Where am I?” I asked. There was this annoying beeping sound that was steadily slowing down.

“You’re in Storybrooke General Hospital.” she said. I guess that would explain the beeping, me connected to a cardiograph.

“Why?” I asked as I rubbed my head. I have a massive headache.

“You were really hurt when we brought you here.” She explained. “I almost thought you weren’t going to make it. From what I was told by Dr. Whale you have three broken ribs, a twisted ankle, and you needed twenty stitches on that gash on your side.”

“I’ve been through worse.” I said with a shrug.

“I can see that.” she said. “Dr. Whale said you have more scars than a kid your age should. And I saw the one on your chest. Wanna tell me about it?”

“No.” I said. I clutched at my chest, feeling the hospital robe I was wearing, and I noticed that my necklace, the Sacred Treasures, were missing. I started freaking out, hearing the rapid ‘beep, beep, beep’ of the heart monitor get faster again. At least I was still wearing both mine and Death’s ring.

“You need to calm down.” the woman said.

“My necklace.” I said. “I want my necklace back. Where is it?”

“It’s alright, all your stuff is in here.” the blonde said. She opened a drawer and pulled out my necklace. After handing to me she watched me put it around my neck. At the same time, I saw a badge strapped to her waist.

“So why is the sheriff here in my room?” I asked after calming down.

“How did you know I was the sheriff?” she asked.

I pointed at the badge. “That gave you away.”

“Oh.” she said. “Well, you’re just a kid-”

“I’m sixteen.”

“-You’re underage.” she clarified. “So I’m in charge of you until we can get a hold of your parents.” We sat there in silence for a little bit. “So do you wanna tell me your name?”

“I’m sure you looked at my ID since I’ve been asleep.” I said. “Speaking of which, how long was I knocked out?”

“About two days.” Great. That’s two days I could have used to look for Percy thrown in the trash. “And your right, I did look at it. But I want you to tell me.” I raised my eyebrow. “You can trust me you know. I am the sheriff.”

“Tsuna.” I said.

“Emma.” she said. “So can you tell me why you were all by yourself and how you got those injuries?” I kept quiet, trying to think of a good lie. “And if you lie I’ll know.”

“How’s that?” I asked.

“It’s my superpower.” she said. “Now talk.”

I looked at Emma through the corner of my eye before letting out a sigh. “Could you hand me my wallet?”

            After she did I pulled out a picture from the wallet. It was of me, Percy, Nico, and Kurama standing in front of the Godzilla statue in Tokyo. We were all standing close, Nico in-between Percy and I while he was holding Kurama. Just seeing the picture made me smile; bringing back the memories of the fun times we had in Japan. I handed her the picture and pointed at Percy.

“See him?” I asked. “That’s my brother Percy. He disappeared a few months ago, and I’ve been trying to find him ever since. You…haven’t seen him, have you?”

“Can’t say that I have.” Emma said. “But I haven’t been in town for the past couple of days. I’ll ask the deputy when I get a chance. And you didn’t tell me _how_ you got hurt.”

“It’s…complicated.” I said. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Tsuna, if your being abused-” Emma said.

“I am not being abused Sheriff.” I said. “My adopted parents are the nicest people on the planet, I can guarantee you that.”

“Alright, I was just doing my job.” Emma said.

            For the next hour Emma questioned me. I almost felt like I was a suspect of a crime or something. All of her questions were about how I knew about Storybrooke, which was strange. I mean, yeah I was lead here by a wolf (no need to tell her that), but really, what’s so weird about me coming across this town?

“How long do I have to stay here Emma?” I asked after I sat up slowly. “I’m so bored.”

“Dr. Whale said that you should stay here for a few days so you can heal.” she said.

“A few days?!” I asked. “I’ll die of boredom in that time. And I need to continue to find Percy. Please Emma,” I gave my best begging puppy face. “Can you please get me out of here?”

I could see her resolve breaking down. “Alright, let me go talk to Whale, see what he thinks. And if he says it’s alright I’ll check you out.”

“Why can’t I check myself out?” I asked.

“Because you’re underage.” she said. “So as of right now, I’m your acting guardian.”

“You’re my guardian?” I asked questioningly.

“Until we can get a hold of your parents.” She explained. “I’m sure they’re worried about you.” My eyes went wide at that. “They do know where you are, right?”

I looked down at my lap. “I sent them a postcard from a few weeks ago telling them I was alright, but no, they don’t know where I am.”

Emma took out her cell phone and held it out to me. “Call your parents kid.” I didn’t take the phone, just stared at it warily. In my condition I can’t risk attracting the attention of monsters, especially the Minotaur. “What’s wrong? Don’t all kids your age have a phone these days?”

“It’s not that, it’s just that I’m not allowed to use cell phones.” I said.

“Why?” she asked. “Is it a religious thing?”

“Something like that.” I said.

“Okay then, I’ll be right back.” she said before walking out the door.

“Thanks Emma.” I said with a smile. I was left alone for a couple of minutes until a nurse came in. She had finished changing the bandages around my chest when Emma came back with a doctor with short dark blonde hair. In my opinion he looked like a doctor from a soap opera… not that I have ever seen a soap opera...

“You seem to be looking better.” said Dr. Whale. “How are you feeling?”

“Good enough to get out of here.” I said.

“With an outlook like that I can tell you’ll be up and walking around in no time.” he said.

“So what’s the verdict Doc?” I asked.

“Well,” Dr. Whale said as he looked through my charts real quick. “As long as you don’t move around too much you can leave whenever Sheriff Swan thinks you’re ready to be discharged. I’ll be giving you a prescription to ease your pain.”

“Thanks.” I said.

“And I told Emma that you should stick to a wheel chair for the next couple of days, just as a precaution.” he said. “But after that you’ll be cleared to walk on your own.”

“Great.” I said. A wheelchair…that just sounds so demeaning, being pushed around for the next several days. I need to find a source of water fast.

            Emma handed me a new back pack that had my clothes in it. They left me alone so I can get changed, and when they came back a nurse was pushing in a wheelchair. Emma and the nurse helped me into the wheelchair. Despite me saying I can wheel myself around the nurse just kept pushing me to the exit.

            It was a little difficult getting into Emma’s car. She wasn’t driving a police car, but a yellow bug. You can imagine what it was like for me to watch her put the wheelchair into the trunk. When she drove away from the hospital I admired the scenic view. We were surrounded by woods, and I tried to keep an eye out for the Minotaur and the Scythian Dracanae. It seems like I still had some luck on my side, since the monsters were nowhere to be seen.

            A few minutes later we pulled into the town itself. Just driving down Main Street we passed a couple of cafés, an auto shop, and a clock tower which Emma told me is right on top the town’s library. There were so many other little shops and other things that I couldn’t describe them all. Emma pulled up to our first stop, a store called Dark Star Pharmacy.

“I’ll be right back.” Emma said. “Want me to get you anything?”

“A postcard?” I asked. “So I can let my parents know I’m alright?”

“Sure thing.” she said.

            When she came back into the car she handed me a plastic bag. It was filled with some basic toiletries, deodorant and toothpaste and the like. The postcard she got was simply a picture of the clock tower. I needed to think of something to write for Sally so she doesn’t worry. But what to say?

The next thing I knew we were stopping again. “Where’re we going?” I asked.

“Well, hospital food sucks,” Emma said, “And you haven’t eaten anything since you’ve been at the hospital. I think you’ll like Granny’s food.” Emma got out the car and struggled to get the wheel chair out of the trunk, where she helped me into the chair before pushing me into the dinner.

“This is so embarrassing.” I said.

“Couldn’t be more embarrassing than bleeding all over Granny’s floor.” Emma said. As she wheeled me up to the front door I looked back at the birdbath where I last saw Yatagarasu. He wasn’t there, which got me worried as to where he was.

“Emma!” said a pretty waitress with red highlights. “Table for two?”

“Thanks Ruby.” Emma said. She wheeled me over to a table and Ruby gave us both menus. “Tsuna, this is Ruby. Her grandma owns this place.”

“Hi.” I said.

“Hi’ya.” Ruby said. “Good to see you’re okay. You had us worried there for a minute.”

“Thanks.” I said, rubbing the back of my head nervously.

“So this is the kid that bled all over my floor.” an older woman said.

“And this would be Granny.” Emma said.

“Do you know how long it took to clean up all of your blood off my floor?” Granny asked sternly.

“Sorry.” I said with a wince before looking down.

“Don’t worry about it.” Granny said. “I’ve dealt with a lot in my day. Just enjoy your meal.”

“Thanks.” I said.

“So what would you guys like to eat?” Ruby asked.

“Um…” I couldn’t decide. Everything on the menu looked good.

“How about a burger?” Emma asked. “Granny’s are one of the best I’ve ever had.”

I gave Emma a smile. “A burger it is then.”

“Add a milkshake to his order Ruby.” Emma said. “I’m sure he’d like it too.”

“Emma, you don’t have to do that.” I said.

“Don’t worry about it Tsuna.” Emma said. Other than Sally and my mom I don’t think I’ve ever met someone as nice as Emma. By the time we finished eating Emma was freaking out. “Is that the time?! I’ve got to get going.”

“Where to?” I asked as I wheeled myself away from the table.

“I need to go pick up my son, I’ll only be a few minutes.” She took out some cash and placed it on the table. “Ruby usually gives me a discount, so use this to pay. Just stay here, I’ll be right back. Hey Granny, could you keep an eye on him for me?”

“Sure thing.” said Granny.

“Emma, I’m sixteen.” I said with annoyance.

“Which is why Granny is going to watch you until I get back.” Emma said as she left.

“What am I supposed to do now?” I asked.

“How about another milkshake?” Ruby asked when she came to pick up the plates. “On the house?”

“How can I say no to that?” I asked with a laugh. “Hey Ruby, do you have a pen I could borrow?”

“Sure.” She reached into her pocket and handed me the pen.

“Thanks.” I said.

            I took out the postcard Emma got for me and stared at it. I had no idea what I was going to write. Sally is already devastated because Percy has been missing for months without a word, and I know she didn’t really like me just going off on my own to look for him. I tapped the pen against the table trying to think of what to say when Ruby placed my milkshake on the table. As I sipped at it, staring at the blank postcard someone sat in the chair in front of me.

“That didn’t take long Emma.” I said.

“I’m sorry, you seem to have me mistaken for Miss Swan.” I looked up and saw a woman with shoulder length dark hair wearing a business suit. She looked familiar, but I couldn’t place where.

“I’m sorry, Miss…?” I said.

“Mills.” she said. “Mayor Mills.”

“I didn’t realize it’s a mayor’s job to meet visitors.” I said.

“As surprising as it sounds we don’t get a lot of strangers here in Storybrooke.” Mayor Mills said. “Speaking of which, how did you come to Storybrooke?”

“I walked, that’s how.” I said.

“Well then,” she said. If the twitch of her eye was anything to go by I think she was trying to hold back her anger. “How did you know to come to Storybrooke?”

“Listen madam Mayor,” I started, “I have never heard of this town until Emma told me after I woke up. I don’t even remember seeing it on the map I had.”

The mayor leaned on her elbows. “It’s a small town.” We stared at each other for a moment before it clicked in my head who I was talking to.

“You’re the one who caught me the other night, aren’t you?” I asked.

“I was, what does that matter?” asked the mayor.

I gave her a sincere smile. “Thank you. If you didn’t call for help, who knows what would’ve happened.” The mayor looked shocked.

“Oh, uh, you’re…welcome.” she said.

            The front door opened, ringing the bell and grabbing my attention. Emma walked in with a twelve year old boy. He was wearing a long scarf, which I almost made a 4th Doctor joke out loud. He ran up to the mayor and hugged her.

“Hi mom.” he said.

“Henry!” the mayor said. “I didn’t realize school was out.” She hugged him back. Is it just me, or did her personality do a 180?

“I see you’ve met Regina.” Emma said.

“Yeah, it was a pleasure.” I said.

“Hi.” said Emma’s, and apparently Regina’s, son.

“Hello.” I said.

“Oh, Tsuna this is Henry.” Emma said.

“Nice to meet you Henry.” I said. At that point I let out a loud yawn. How could I be tired? I just slept for two days straight.

“We should get you someplace to rest.” Emma said. “Hey Granny, do you have a room available?”

“We do.” Granny said. “How long will he be staying?”

“Yes, how long will he be staying Sheriff?” Regina asked.

“Whale said he needs to rest for a couple of days.” Emma said. “That shouldn’t be a problem, right Regina?”

“No, of course not.” said Regina.

“If I could speak for myself.” I said. I took out my wallet and pulled out a white credit card with a red circle in the center of the card and a white tori gate in the center of that, a little gift my father left me in my room at Sally’s before he came to Olympus. “I can pay for myself, although I don’t know how much $200 would get me.” Why did Dad limit me to only two hundred bucks a month escapes me.

“I’ll pay for it Tsuna.” Emma said. “I would offer you to stay in my apartment, but it’s pretty crowded right now.”

“Mom, maybe you can help.” Henry said to Regina. “It’d be a really nice thing to do, and it’ll prove to the town that you’ve changed.” That sounded suspicious.

“I don’t see why not.” Regina said.

            After they paid for the room Ruby pushed me through the diner to the back hallway. She told me that the rooms have complementary bath robes and personal bathrooms, which would make finding some water to heal a lot easier for me. Emma and Henry followed from behind.

“So I’ll be back to check on you in the morning.” Emma said when we were in the room. She then wrote down her cell number and handed it to me. “If you need anything give me a call.”

“Me and Granny live here too, so if it’s an emergency come straight to us, okay?” Ruby said. I nodded.

            After everyone left I rolled myself to the bathroom and turned on the hot water in the tub. As it filled up I stripped out of my clothes, which was more awkward than I thought it would be because I was kinda stuck in the wheelchair. Once the tub was filled I stepped in. I immediately felt a lot better. My body didn’t feel as sore and whatever medicine was still in my system was dissipating. Looking at my chest I saw the bruises fading rather nicely, and my ankle didn’t hurt that much anymore. I could even tell that my broken ribs were healed.

            I ran the tips of my fingers across the stitches that were sealing the cut that snake woman gave me. That Dr. Whale really knew what he was doing. I’ve only seen Will make a stich this nice, which reminds me, I need to see if he can meet up with me for a resupply of Nectar and Ambrosia. But, will he really want to talk to me after what I did? He’s probably mad at me. Besides, if I went back to Camp Half Blood Chiron would make me stay to debrief and then go with a large group to search for Percy, which would only waste my time.

            I let out a content sigh and leaned my head against the tub. But while I laid there I couldn’t shake the feeling I had about this town. It felt…off. And then there was this feeling that Emma was trying to hide something, though I had no idea what it could be. And that Mayor Mills was very suspicious as well, with her little interrogation she put me through.

            Now that I think about it, this town felt like it was thick with the Mist. I really hope that this isn’t a town of monsters or a trap. I mean, Emma and Ruby and everyone else I’ve met don’t seem like monsters. I never really got a ‘monster’ vibe from them... well, I say that, but the Mayor wasn’t all that nice. But whatever it was I was sensing I knew that I had to keep my guard up. With that, I let out a breath and sank beneath the water. Being underwater helped me think.

“ _I doubt Percy’s here, but it wouldn’t hurt to look around while I’m stuck here_.” I thought. “ _But…where could you be Percy_?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated.
> 
> Also, please check out my superhero AU story The Rise of Riptide from my new side series The Olympians and tell me what you think.


	3. My Stroll with a Queen

**_Knock, knock, knock_ **

“Tsuna, are you awake?”

            Oh gods, why? I just want to sleep. But that annoying knocking was getting on my nerves. Have you ever had a time where you were so comfy in bed it was a struggle to open your eyes? I was going through that right now. When I did open my eyes one of my pillows was wrapped in my arms and had more drool than I care to admit on it.

“ _Was I making out with my pillow_?” I thought. “ _How old am I, thirteen_?” I then noticed that I had a…um…a ‘morning issue’, if you know what I mean. I must have had a good dream about-

“I’m coming in Tsuna.”

“Just a sec!” I said quickly. I sat up and pulled the blankets up to hide my morning embarrassment. Just in time too, since Emma opened the door.

“Oh, wow, sorry.” Emma said, blocking her gaze with her hand. I was hiding the most embarrassing thing, so I guess she didn’t consider I wouldn’t sleep with a shirt on to bed. “Uh, morning.”

“Morning.” I said, not looking her in the eyes. “Can I help you Emma?”

“I was wondering if you would like to get some breakfast.” Emma said.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” I said smiling. “What’s in the bag?”

“Ruby did some last minute shopping for you after you went to bed.” Emma said. “Just some new clothes, since you didn’t have any when we found you, other than the clothes on your back.”

“I’ll need to thank her.” I said as Emma placed the bag on end of the bed.

“Hey, your bruises are gone.” stated Emma. “How’d that happen?”

“I’m a fast healer.” I said. Technically it isn’t a lie. Emma didn’t seem to believe me, if I’m reading her face right, but luckily for me she didn’t push it. How strong is her ‘superpower’? “Would you mind giving me a sec?”

“Yeah, I’ll just be outside.” Emma said before she left the room.

            As soon as she was gone I flopped back into bed. I have a feeling that Emma is basically going to hover over me during my stay here in Storybrooke. I let out a breath and decided to get dressed. I really have to thank Ruby for the clothes. She has good tastes.

            They were really good looking. A pair of dark blue jeans stylishly ripped at the knees and a dark green t-shirt that had a red rose design on it. I’m kind of curious as how she knew what my size was. I’m just going to chalk it up to her having a good eye for these types of things.

            Just when I finished getting dressed I heard something tapping. I turned towards the window and saw Yatagarasu standing on the window sill. I rushed over and opened the window. He seemed alright, and I was grateful to the gods for that. I was afraid my healing him didn’t take.

“Yata, I was so worried about you!” I said. I stroked my fingers down his back and he chirped contently. “Where were you? Were you at least somewhere safe?” Yatagarasu nodded. “Thank goodness.”

“Tsuna, are you ready?” Emma asked after knocking.

“In a minute!” I yelled. “I need to get going Yata. Stay safe for me, okay? I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I walked to the door, only for Yatagarasu to fly over and pull be back. “What’s wrong?” Yatagarasu flew over and sat in the wheelchair. “But it’s embarrassing to be pushed around in that thing! Besides, I can walk now.” He cawed and stared at me. “Fine, I give up.” I went over and shooed him away and sat in the chair. “Happy?” He acted like he was. And I guess I don’t need Emma to see me all healed after the injuries I sustained.

            Opening the door I saw Emma wasn’t in the hallway. Wondering where she went I rolled myself to the diner area. Emma was already at a table with a cup of coffee. It looked like Ruby was kind enough to move a chair so I could just roll myself in to the table.

“Took you long enough Tsuna.” Emma said.

“Sorry.” I said.

“Well don’t you look great in that.” Ruby said when she brought the menu.

“Thanks.” I said. “For the clothes too. You have good tastes.”

“Thank you.” Ruby said. “So what can I get you started on?”

“Can you make me a white chocolate peppermint mocha?” I said. “And then I’ll have the special.”

“Okay, it’ll be right out with Emma’s.” Ruby said, writing down my order. A few minutes later Ruby returned with my coffee.

“Tsuna can you tell me about your family?” Emma asked.

“Why?” I asked, sipping on my drink.

“Well since you’re staying here for a few days I should get to know you.” she said.

“Alright then.” I said. “I was born in New York, moved to Seattle when I was five, and moved back a few months ago.”

“You said you were adopted, what happened to your mother?” she asked. I felt like something was stabbing through my heart, and I have a pretty good idea what that feels like.

“There was an accident at her job.” I said, gripping my spoon tightly. “She didn’t make it.”

“Tsuna I’m sorry.” Emma said. “I didn’t mean to drag up bad memories.”

“I-it’s fine.” I said, taking a deep breath. “I have Percy now, and Sally and Paul. I even have a few amazing friends in my life now, especially Ni…never mind. My life’s good, really good now. Sally and Paul treat me like one of their own, and Percy and I are really close, even before I was adopted. So you can imagine how my world was thrown upside down when Percy disappeared.”

“What’s Percy like?”

“He’s the most loyal friend and brother anyone could ever ask for.” I said. “He’s brave, strong, and a hero. I swore to his mother that I would find him and bring Percy back safe and sound.”

“And I bet you keep your promises.” Emma said.

“I took a very serious oath.” I said.

            I got lucky, because Ruby set down out plates when I was done talking. I started eating because I didn’t want to talk about Percy anymore. It’s painful enough knowing that I haven’t been able to find him over the past three, almost four, months. After we were done eating I insisted to pay for our meals.

Emma then rolled me out of the diner. “Uh, where are we going Emma?”

“We’re going around town and ask about your brother.” Emma said.

“Really?” I asked.

“Like I told you yesterday I’ve been out of town for a few days,” started Emma, “But he could have appeared here while I was gone. This town is bigger than you’d think; if he came here at least one person should have seen him.”

I smiled at Emma. “Thank you.”

            We went all over town. First we went to the local nunnery. While I was showing a nun named Nova Percy’s picture, the head nun (I think the rank is Mother Superior) was talking to Emma in private. I say private, but I could see her stealing glances at me, so I must be what they were talking about. I have a feeling that this town doesn’t get many visitors.

            The nunnery didn’t have any information on Percy, so we continued on. We spent several hours driving around town asking as many people we could find if they have seen my brother. We ran into Dr. Hopper, the local psychiatrist (who had this very friendly Dalmatian who licked all over my face), a man named Marco, even Emma’s roommates Mary Margret and David Nolan. But none of them have ever seen anyone with that even remotely resembles Percy.

            Something really weird ended up happening when I met Mary Margret and David. When I first saw them, my head started hurting. Mary Margret at first, to me, appeared with long black hair and a white dress, with a bow of all things over her shoulder. David looked like a prince, with his very royal like red garb and cape. But when I blinked they were dressed normally. Mary Margret even had a pixie cut. I think I have a brain injury that Dr. Whale didn’t tell me about, because I must be hallucinating.

            Emma must have sensed how disappointed I was. I don’t know why I was that broken up about it. I should have known better than to get my hopes up. But is it really so hard to ask for a clue or something? One simple ray of light to guide the way? Anyway, Emma pulled to a stop in front of a pawn shop.

“Gold!” Emma called out as she wheeled me in.

            Nobody seemed to be in though. You’d think the owner would have locked up shop or post a ‘At Lunch, be back in thirty minutes’ sign or something. Emma pushed me up the front counter and started ringing the bell. By the time she rang the bell for the sixth time I started to look around.

            There were many different kinds of items here. There was an old school Mickey Mouse phone behind the counter. In a glass case I saw some ancient Chinese statue with a dragon pattern painted on his clothes surrounded by miniature Terra Cotta statues. Hanging from a beam were some terrifying looking puppet couple that I think were wearing German clothing. Even Chucky would say they looked creepy. There was a shoe shine box on one counter and some ornate tea set on another. There were a lot of naval and maritime stuff too. Stuff like several ships in bottles and a canoe hanging from the ceiling. This store just felt creepy. I don’t know why, it’s like there was something dark about it.

A man walked out from the stores back room. “What’s wrong with your skin?!” I shrieked, practically jumping out of the wheelchair.

            The man had shaggy, greasy hair that reached just past his shoulders and was wearing a dark business suit. But that wasn’t what freaked me out. What freaked me out was the fact that his skin was grey and scaly, like he was some sort of crocodile (insert Killer Croc reference here, Batman Fans.) But like everything else I’ve been seeing, it went away and replaced with a normal looking man with a cane.

“A bit rude, don’t you think?” he asked.

“Sorry.” I said.

“Tsuna this is Mr. Gold.” Emma said. “Mr. Gold, this is Tsuna.” I waved at the shop owner.

“So what do I owe the pleasure Miss Swam?” asked Mr. Gold.

“I was hoping to ask you if you have seen anybody strange while I’ve been away.” Emma said. “Tsuna’s brother Percy.” I handed him the picture and pointed out Percy.

“Have you seen him?” I asked. He stared at the picture for a minute before handing it to me.

“Can’t say that I have.” said Mr. Gold.

“So no one has seen my brother.” I said, feeling…well, down, to put things mildly.

“We’ll get out of your hair Gold.” Emma said. “Thanks for your help.”

“Have a nice day.” Mr. Gold said as he went to look through some book.

            Emma began to roll me out of the store, only to run into one of the counters. It was hard enough to throw me out of the chair. Emma immediately went to help me up, as did Mr. Gold (probably to prevent getting sued.) When he did he sort of froze.

“Where did you get that?” he asked, pointing at my necklace. It must have fallen out of my shirt during the fall.

I hid it back under my shirt, mostly because I didn’t like the way he was looking at it. “It’s a family heirloom.”

“I see…” said Mr. Gold. As Emma pushed me towards the front entrance Mr. Gold called out to her. “Sheriff, may I have word?”

“Sure?” Emma asked. Mr. Gold didn’t say anything. He just leaned against his cane.

“In private.” he added, nodding his head in my direction.

Emma raised her eyebrow at him. “Tsuna, wait outside.”

“Emma-!” I started.

“Just wait outside.” she repeated. “I’ll only be a minute.”

“Alright.” I said.

            After she closed the door behind me I waited for less than a minute before I wheeled myself around the corner towards the side entrance of the store. I didn’t trust Mr. Gold. It was like he was hiding something. Maybe he _did_ know something about Percy and lied about it. I peeked through the window and saw Emma and Mr. Gold.

“What did you want to talk about Gold?” Emma asked.

“You shouldn’t trust that boy Miss Swan.” Mr. Gold said.

“What are you talking about?” asked Emma.

“He’s hiding something.” he said. “There’s something about him Dearie, something powerful.”

“What do you mean?” Emma asked. “Are you talking about magic?”

“ _Magic_?” I thought. “ _What are they talking about_?”

“You should get him out of this town.” Mr. Gold said. “He’ll bring trouble, and after what you just went through in the Enchanted Forest, I doubt you’d want any more trouble.”

“ _En…chanted Forest_?” I asked.

“I can’t just abandon him.” Emma argued. “He’s still hurt. You did see the wheelchair, right?”

“If that’s the only issue Miss Swan then let me use my magic to heal him of his injuries.” There he goes talking about magic again. Was he a demigod son of Hecate? “And you know what? I’ll throw in an amnesia spell, free of charge.”

“Why are you in such a hurry to get rid of him?” Emma asked, sounding angry. “He’s just a kid.”

“If I recall correctly Dearie you weren’t this keen with keeping a child around when you gave up Henry.” Mr. Gold said. I heard a very distinct slapping noise.

“I did that to give him his best chance Gold.” Emma said. “And wouldn’t you give anything to have someone you lost come back to you.

There was a long silence. “If you are so keen on keeping him here Dearie,” Mr. Gold said, “Then go ahead. But don’t come crawling back to me when he cause trouble.”

“Fine.” Emma said. If I heard right it was like she was saying it through gritted teeth.

            As soon as their conversation ended I rushed my way back to the front. I made it just in time too as Emma opened the door as I came to a stop. She must be really pissed off, because when she was putting the wheelchair back in the trunk she practically threw it in and slammed the trunk. It was pretty scary.

            Emma did calm down by the time we got back to Granny’s. While she tried to get the wheelchair out I (by acting really hurt and moving slower than I would have liked) got out of the car. Emma was impressed enough to say that we’d take the wheelchair back to the hospital tomorrow. She did insist on helping me walk into the dinner though.

“You’re not picking Henry up today?” I asked.

“David’s taking him to the stables.” Emma said. “He has a horse there that David is teaching him to take care of. “

“Cool.” I said. “I really like horses myself.” She led me to a table when I stopped her. “You know what Emma, I’m not really that hungry. I’m just going to go lie down.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. “I can take you back to the hospital if you’re not feeling well.”

“I’ll be alright.” I said.

“Well, goodnight Tsuna.” Emma said her voice full of concern. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Night Emma.” I said. I walked into the hallway, smiling at Ruby as she passed. When I went to open my door, I heard my name come from the diner area. I snuck my way and hid behind the corner.

“-eep an eye out for him.” Emma said.

“Why Emma?” Ruby asked.

“He was so disappointed when no one said that they’ve seen his brother.” Emma explained. “I’m afraid he’ll try something when I’m not watching him.”

“Okay Emma.” Ruby said. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Thanks Ruby.” Emma said.

            Emma was hiring Ruby as a spy? A lookout? Is that really how she treats her friends? Or does she really trust what Mr. Gold said? I rushed back to my room and laid on my bed. Yatagarasu was sitting on the window sill taking a nap. I was alone with my thoughts. Emma was being wary of me, the town was suspicious of me, and Mr. Gold said he had magic. With my only real experience with magic was during the ‘Egyptian Incident’, I really don’t trust Mr. Gold.

            Standing up I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. Using my powers I turned the water into a fine mist. And with the light shining through there was a just noticeable rainbow. I tossed a golden Drachma in.

“Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Percy Jackson…wherever he may be.” I was responded with a ‘beep, beep, beep’ of a busy phone service.

“I’m sorry, but your message could not be connected due to unavailable location.” an automated voice came out of the rainbow. “Please try again later with an actual location of the person you are trying to reach…would you like to contact another being?”

I thought about it for a minute. “Yes, I would.” Tossed in another Drachma for good measure. “Nico di Angelo Cam…” No, Nico wouldn’t be at Camp. “I mean, Nico di Angelo, in the Underworld.”

**Beep, beep, beep!**

“I’m sorry, but your message-”

I tossed another Drachma in. “Nico di Angelo, Camp Half Blood.”

**Beep, beep, beep!**

“I’m sorr-”

“Nico di Angelo, Los Angeles!”

**Beep, beep, beep!**

“I’m-”

“Nico di Angelo, the Palace of Hades!”

**Beep, beep, beep!**

“I’m sorry, but your message could not be connected because the person you wish to speak has declined all calls. Would you like to try another being to contact?” N-Nico doesn’t want to talk to me? Why?

“Percy…Nico…where are you?” I leaned against the wall and slid to the floor.

            Wiping my hands down my face I sighed in frustration. I need to get out of this town and back to looking for Percy. After getting Ruby to make me a grilled cheese for dinner (she’s been incredibly nice, I’m going to miss her) I went to get a few hours of rest before I leave.

            It was late at night when I woke up. When I finished getting ready I snuck out. I was surprised to see Granny at the diner’s register at this hour, so I went to the entrance for the Inn. Luckily for me Ruby wasn’t there. After sneaking out Yatagarasu flew over to me and perched on my shoulder. When I got back onto Main Street I almost ran into an opening door. At the last second I ran around the corner, only to see a blond woman walking out of the building. When she was gone I stepped out of hiding. Wondering why she was working this late I looked at the building she just came out of. It was an ice cream shop called Any Given Sundae. Why would an ice cream worker be working this late?

            I didn’t have time to really put any thought into it. I needed to get going and go find Percy. But as I walked past the store I almost slipped and fell on a patch of ice, which was weird because I know it wasn’t there before, let alone the fact that it wasn’t cold enough for ice to even be here. What was even weirder though was that the ice formed a trail. My natural curiosity was screaming at me to follow it, while my demigod instincts were yelling even louder to ignore it and get out of this town.

            I just took off running down the street and not looking back. Emma and Ruby and everyone who was so nice and helpful deserved better than this, but I need to get out of this town. Before I knew it I was standing on the town line. The town’s welcome sign was fully repaired, as if there no evidence of what happened the night I came to Storybrooke. I turned around and looked towards the town.

“I’m sorry Emma.” I said before I turned to leave.

            That it, until I heard _that_ roar. Coming from my left the Minotaur came charging at me. I had enough time to jump out of the way, which caused the monster to ram right into a tree. It shook its head as if running full force into a solid pine tree was nothing.

“Have you been waiting for me you walking pile of manure?!” I yelled.

            The cow roared and slammed his fists where I was standing. I rolled out of the way and summoned my sword. When it tried to grab for me I slashed the Minotaur’s hand. It lost only a few fingers in that attack. But the Minotaur used my close proximity to back hand me across the street. I rolled a few feet after I landed on the asphalt. To make matters worse before I even stood up, two Scythian Dracanae slithered out of the woods and pointed their spears at my chest and throat.

“It’sss time to come with usss.” one said.

“The Earth Mother will find ussse for you sssea god ssspawn.” the other said.

“ _Earth Mother_?” I thought.

“We ssshould make sssure he can’t run away.” said the snake woman. “I doubt the Missstresss would like that.”

“You are right.” her cohort said. “I’ll ssstab his legsss.”

“No, please don’t!” I yelled. She raised her spear and plunged to downward.

            All of a sudden this rose colored smoke enveloped me. When the smoke faded I was sitting on the ground next to an older woman wearing dark blue robes. With an umbrella in one hand she helped me up.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“How did you-?” I started to ask.

“How dare you!” hissed the Scythian Dracanae. “That demigod isss _our_ prizzze for the Earth Mother!”

“Demigod?” the woman asked aloud. She turned back to me with a sweet smile. “I wondered what was so different about you.”

“Have you…been watching me?” I asked.

The Minotaur roared and charged at the two of us. “Hold that thought sweetheart.”

            The Minotaur kept charging at us, building up speed. The woman, whoever she was, didn’t seem afraid. In fact, she looked amused. When the Minotaur was about five feet in front of us the woman just raised her hand and the Minotaur stopped dead in its tracks, frozen like a statue. The Scythian Dracanae slithered their way towards this woman and went to ram them through her. But with a mere flick of her wrist she disarmed them.

            The snake women started to back away, but the woman didn’t let them get away. She snapped her fingers and one of the snake women was turned into what looked like a porcelain statue that shattered. Then a fire ball appeared in the woman’s hand and she threw it at the remaining Dracanae, leaving nothing behind. I watched the spot where they died, just waiting for them to reform, but they didn’t.

The woman looked at the Minotaur again; its eyes were following her movements. “Growing up I only thought the Minotaur was a legend.” she said before turning back to me. “Are you alright?”

I shook my head, getting rid of my jaw dropped face. “Um, yeah, I am. Are…are you a goddess?”

“Oh goodness no, nothing of the sort.” she laughed. “But that’s really kind of you. Now come, let’s get you back to town.”

“Actually I was trying to leave.” I said.

“Oh but dear child, it’s dangerous to be out there alone.” she said.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” I said.

“Oh I’m sure that’s true,” she started, “But those three monsters did seem to, um,” she looked back at the Minotaur. “Throw you around easily.”

“The Minotaur is one of the more powerful monsters I have fought.” I said. “And the snake women wouldn’t stay dead.”

“Well I seemed to have finished them off easily enough.” she said.

“Yeah you did.” I said with curiosity. “How did you do it?”

“You mean this?” she asked, summoning another fireball in her hand. “It’s magic.”

“Magic.” I said, staring at the flame dancing in her hand. “Are you a daughter of Hecate?” I took a step back. “Or are you an Egyptian magician?”

“Neither.” she said. “I’m merely a queen who learned how to use magic a very long time ago.”

“I’ve never seen magic like yours before.” I said.

“It’s not from around here.” she said.

“Where is it from?” I asked.

“The same place the residents of this adorable little town come from.” she said. “From another world, a world of magic.”

“What?” I asked. “Another world? What is that supposed to mean?”

“I think you should ask Rum…oh, what’s his name here?” she said. “Mr. Gold. He’ll tell you. Now, how about you share something with me. I’ve heard of demigods in the legends of my world. Beings of great magical potential, descended from gods themselves. But that’s all they are, myths and legends.”

“They’re much more than myths.” I said. “They’re people, my friends…my family.”

“So if you’re a demigod, who is your godly parent?” she asked. “Is it Zeus?”

“Gods no!” I said chuckling. “I’m the son of Susanoo.”

“Never heard of him.” she said.

“Unless you’re into Japanese mythology I’d be surprised if you did.” I said.

“What’s Japan?” she asked.

“It’s a country.” I said. “By the way, who are you?”

“Cora.” she said. “And you are?”

“Tsuna Noble.” I said.

She curtsied. “Lovely to meet you Tsuna. You’re very brave, fighting those monsters. And so handsome too.”

“Thanks.” I said, a bit uncomfortable with that ‘handsome’ comment. Yatagarasu then landed on my shoulder.

“Oh, what a beautiful bird.” Cora said, reaching out to pet him. Yatagarasu, however, snapped at her gloved fingers causing her to pull back.

“I’m so sorry.” I said “He’s never done that before.”

“It’s alright.” she said with a smile, though her tone said something completely different. “You really should get back before anyone notices. Have a good night Tsuna.”

“Good n-” she waved her hand and the rose colored smoke covered me and Yatagarasu, and when it faded we were back in my room at Granny’s. “-ight.” I looked around; trying to be sure I was in Granny’s Inn. Ow, my head hurts with all that’s happened tonight. “What the hell is this place?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated.
> 
> Also, please check out my superhero AU story The Rise of Riptide from my new side series The Olympians and tell me what you think.


	4. I Finally get some Answers

“It’s amazing how fast you’ve recuperated.” Dr. Whale said. He clipped the ends of the stitches, and then grabbed some type of tweezers to pull the thread out. I’ve never had stitches before, so I was expecting it to hurt. But there was only a slight tugging sensation. “It’s almost like magic.”

“ _I guess it’s like that._ ” I thought. “So what do you say doc? Am I the picture of health?”

“You are.” Dr. Whale said. “You can leave whenever you want.”

“Thank you.” I said. Dr. Whale handed me my shirt after putting away his tools.

**Knock, knock, knock**

“Tsuna, can I come in?” Emma asked. She opened the door as I slipped my shirt on. “So how is he Whale?”

“He’s in better shape than I am Emma.” Dr. Whale said. “He can leave whenever he feels ready.”

After getting in the car it was awkwardly quiet. “Something on your mind Emma?” I asked.

“I’m just going to miss you kid.” she said. “I kinda wish you could stay a little while longer.”

“Why?” I asked. “We don’t really know each other that well.”

“I don’t know in all honesty.” she said. “You’re just likeable, I guess. And, I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like the idea of you traveling all by yourself.”

“I’m a big boy Emma.” I said. “I can take care of myself.”

“I understand that Tsuna, but that doesn’t make me feel better about it.” said Emma.

“Oh…” I said. “Well…I guess I could use a ride. To Boston, maybe?”

“I can do that.” Emma said. “And then you’ll get on a bus and head straight for your parent’s house, alright.”

“If it will make you feel better about it, alright.” I said. “But I need to pick up a few things first, if that’s okay with you?”

“Sure thing.” Emma said.

            We pulled into the Dark Star Pharmacy. I got some basic supplies, Emma (annoyingly) paying for it all. I really needed to contact Will (which I’m kinda scared to do admittedly), or just face the music and head straight to Camp to restock on Nectar and Ambrosia. Maybe Annabeth and the others have a clue as to where Percy was. But if she did, you’d think that she would let me, Percy’s _brother_ , know as soon as she got a clue. But since the day I left Camp I haven’t spoken with her.

As soon as we got back into Emma’s patrol car her phone went off. “Hello? David, what’s going on? Okay, I’ll be right there.” Emma sighed. “Sorry Tsuna, I have to go take care of something. I can drop you off at Granny’s if you want?”

“Don’t worry about it Emma.” I said. I got out of the car and leaned in through the open window. “I’m just going to walk around, stretch my legs a bit.”

“Okay, just stay safe.” Emma said. She turned on the car and was about to shift gears when she turned back to me. “Tsuna, come and have dinner with me and my family tonight. And then tomorrow I’ll drive you to Boston.”

“I’d like that.” I said. “See you later sheriff.” I threw her a two fingered salute.

            This town, despite the massively weird vibe it gave me, was really nice and tranquil. Maybe because of its closeness to the ocean, or the forests that remind me of my home in Washington, but it was just breathtaking. Speaking of the ocean I walked all the way to the beach. It had a nice and cold salty breeze coming from the waterfront. At one point I took off my socks and shoes and walked alongside the beach through the water. Yatagarasu perched himself on my shoulder and made himself comfortable.

            Walking back into town, where my avian guardian flew to the roofs of the buildings to keep an eye out, I noticed more and more people giving me strange looks. I’m really starting to suspect that they never get strangers here. I don’t know why though, because this town is pretty great. The food’s delicious, the scenery is beautiful, and the townsfolk (despite their looks) were incredibly nice.

            But when I got up this morning my…hallucinations, I guess, were getting a lot worse. Everybody looked a different. The nuns were glowing in colored, sparkling dust. Mary Margret, who was out getting groceries, looked like she did when I first met her; flowing regal white dress and long black hair, making her look like a princess. Six men were with her, and they looked like miners from the Renaissance, pick axes and all. I tried to ignore the hallucinations while Mary Margret told me she was excited to have me over for dinner. She wanted to make a special meal for me and wanted to know what I liked to eat.

After talking to Mary Margret for a good half hour I bumped into my savior. “Watch where you’re going!” yelled Mayor Mills.

“Sorry Madam Mayor.” I said. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” she said as she brushed herself off. It’s not like she actually fell to the ground. When she stood back up straight I saw her in a black, queenly leather outfit and her hair tied in a tight bun. “What are you staring at?”

“Nothing your highness.” I muttered. The mayor looked shocked.

“What did you say?” she asked.

“Nothing…” I said. I quickly walked past her before she could say anything else.

“Wait!” she yelled. “Come back!”

            I started running as fast as I could to get away from her. I ran through alleys and back roads, until I was sure I lost her. My head was starting to hurt. It was like something was drilling into my skull with a drill the size of Gurren Lagann. I leaned against a wall to rest for a moment. After taking a deep breath I went around the corner of the building and saw that I was at Mr. Gold’s shop. I don’t really know what came over me, but the next thing I knew I was walking into the store.

            All of the nick knacks and little treasures were interesting to look at but I couldn’t help wonder what the story was behind all of them. Mr. Gold didn’t seem to be in at the moment, just like last time. My headache was persisting, but it was at least bearable now.

Walking through the store I spotted a jade magatama and let out a laugh. “And what would be so funny?” I turned around, nearly pulling out my sword, and saw Mr. Gold, er, I mean Mr. Gold with crocodile like skin. He was even wearing a dark red leather suit that made the whole crocodile aesthetic more noticeable.

“Nothing.” I said. I pointed over at the magatama. “This is interesting.”

“It’s not for sale.” Mr. Gold said. He walked behind the main counter and started going through some records.

“I’m not here to buy anything.” I said.

“Then why are you here?” he asked, looking very irritated.

“I need some answers, and I think you’re the only person who can give them.” I explained.

“Really?” he asked. “Don’t you think you would get more answers from Miss Swan, or even Regina?”

“You’re right.” I said. “I could have asked them, but they seem to be hiding something. Actually, everyone in Storybrooke seems to be hiding something from me. And last night I saw something that I haven’t seen before.”

“And what would that be?” asked Mr. Gold.

“Magic.”

“Magic.” Mr. Gold repeated. He shook his head and let out a laugh. “Sorry lad, there’s no such thing.”

“Don’t lie to me.” I said loudly. “I heard what you told Emma, that you’d heal me free of charge.”

I saw Mr. Gold freeze for a moment before he quickly regained his composure. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” He said. “Now if you excuse me, I have a business to run. Get out.”

“Fine.” I said after staring at him for a minute.

            Turning around I walked to the entrance. Right when I was in front of the main entrance I saw a rusty old trident leaning against the wall. Despite just looking really old it was in great shape. How I never noticed it the last time I was here escaped me.

“Now this is interesting.” I said.

“Leave it alone.” Mr. Gold said, not even looking up.

I ignored him and lifted the trident in my hands. It had a good weight to it. “Do you know the significance about tridents Mr. Gold?” I got a stupid idea.

“Of course.” Mr. Gold walked around the counter. “In ancient times they were used as weapons.”

“True, but there is something more important about them.” I said. I was maneuvering the trident around like Percy taught me. “They are the symbol of a very powerful being.”

“Yes, I know the legends.” Mr. Gold said impatiently. “The Trident of Poseidon. It doesn’t exist.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It doesn’t exist.” I said. “The same with your magic.”

            I hefted the trident over my shoulder and tossed it at the pawnbroker. I really hoped I was right. When the trident was right in front of him Mr. Gold raised his hand, causing the trident to freeze in midair.

“Di Immortales…”

“Damn.” Mr. Gold said after letting out an exasperated sigh. The trident fell to the ground with a loud clang. “You shouldn’t have done that Dearie.”

            With a thrust of his hand I was forcibly slammed against the wall. As my throat started to constrict I was being raised up against the wall. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.

“I’m only going to give you this once chance boy.” he threatened. “Tell me who you really are, and if you lie, I’ll know.” With that the constriction of my throat eased up a little bit.

“My name is Tsuna Noble.” I choked out.

“I don’t care about that.” he said. “When I first laid eyes on you I saw that you weren’t any normal human being. It is as if your body is filled with powerful magics. What are you?”

“I am the son of Susanoo.” I said. “The god of the seas and storms.”

Mr. Gold’s eyes widened a little bit. “Demigod…” He lowered his hand, making me drop onto the floor. I started coughing to get my breath back. When I stood back up Mr. Gold looked bewildered. “Your kind isn’t supposed to be real. You’re just stories from the most ancient of legends.”

“Many gods have continued to exist for the past 2000 years.” I explained, my voice hoarse. Gods did my throat hurt.

“Maybe in this world, but not mine.” he said.

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “What do you mean _your_ world?”

“I’m not from this world.” he said. “Nobody in Storybrooke is from this world.”

“Then where are you from?” I asked.

“The Enchanted Forest.” He said.

“The what?” I said.

“How about we strike a deal?” Mr. Gold asked. “If you tell me about your connection to the gods and their influence in this world, I’ll tell you all about the Enchanted Forest and how everyone got here.”

            He put his hand out for me to shake. I stared at it while rubbing my throat. He was just about to kill me, and now he wants me to explain basically my everyday life. But if I was going to get any answers it’s not like I have much of a choice.

I shook Mr. Gold’s hand. “It’s a deal.”

“How about you start Dearie.” he said.

“That’s the thing, I don’t know where to start.” I said. After taking a breath I began. “Let’s start with the fact that all the Greek gods are real. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, all real. They have been ruling Western Civilization ever since they came to be in Greece over 2000 years ago. As society moved west, so too did the gods.

“As you’d expect of the gods, they weren’t exactly loyal to their spouses, so they had children with mortals, creating demigods. Many wars in the world have been fought because the Children of the Big Three were at each other’s throats. Over time, these conflicts ended. After World War 2, there was a pact between the Big Three to prevent their children from being born. This was also because of a prophecy that stated one of their children would either destroy or save Olympus during a war with the Titans.”

“I’m guessing that would be that brother that you are looking for?” asked Mr. Gold.

“Yes.” I nodded. “He is the greatest hero in all of Olympus, a brave son of Poseidon.”

“What about your father, Susanoo, was his name?” Mr. Gold asked. “I don’t recall hearing about him.”

“He’s a god from the Shinto pantheon of gods, from Japan.” I said. “Though technically speaking, they aren’t really around anymore.”

“So how are you connected to the Greek gods?” he asked.

“Poseidon is my great great grandfather on my mother’s side.” I said. “And Percy is my adopted brother.”

“I see.” he said. “So there _is_ magic in this world.”

“It’s your turn.” I said.

“Right.” he said. “Do you recall the fairy tales of your youth? Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella?”

“Yeah, vaguely.” I said. “Mostly the Disney versions of them.”

“Well they are very real.” Mr. Gold went on. “Your friend Ruby is in actuality Red Riding Hood herself, and Mary Margret is Snow White.”

“What?!” I yelled.

“No need to be scream.” he said. “As I was saying, all the fairy tales of this world are real. They are the lives of the people from the Enchanted Forest, a world filled with magic. Many years ago I created the most powerful curse imaginable, the Dark Curse. I spent years making deals and finding the right person to cast it. And I did. The Evil Queen, Regina, cast the Dark Curse to get her revenge on Snow White, and subsequently took away the happy endings of everyone caught in the cross fire. And then Emma Swan came to town, starting a chain of events that led to the Curse breaking, and here we are.”

“So who are you in the Enchanted Forest?” I asked.

“Rumpelstiltskin.” he introduced himself.

“The imp who spins straw into go-Gold. Mr. Gold, well that makes sense.” I said. This is so weird. Fairy tales are real? Gods this is shocking.

“From what you told me this shouldn’t be so shocking for you.” Rump-I mean Mr. Gold said.

“Gods I can accept, but…Snow White? Cinderella?” I said. “Next thing you’ll be telling me is that Maleficent is real.”

“Well…”

“Shut up!” I said excitedly. “No way, she’s real too? Does that mean Ursula and Jafar are real as well?”

“I’ve never heard of Jafar.” he said. “But the Sea Witch is real.” He then spoke quietly, more than likely to himself. “I wonder where she is…”

The front door opened, with a bell ringing. “I hope you’re hungry Rumple, I made us a great lunch-oh.” Turning around I saw a woman in a sparkling golden yellow dress with curly brown hair. I recognized her immediately. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were with a customer.”

“It’s alright Belle, Mr. Noble and I were just talking.” Mr. Gold said. I got excited. I mean, how could you not? This is Belle, _THE_ Belle.

I ran right up to her and took her hand in mine and shook it like crazy. “It is an honor to meet you Belle.” I said with a huge smile on my face. “You are my absolute favorite Disney Princess. When I was younger I always fantasized that you would read me all sorts of stories.”

“Excuse me?” Belle asked bewildered.

“He knows about the Enchanted Forest Belle.” Mr. Gold said. “I told him.”

“Sorry, I kinda got a little too excited.” I said.

“Well, it’s very nice to meet you, um,” she said.

“Tsuna.” I said.

“Oh, you’re the stranger in town.” Belle said. “Rumple told me about you yesterday. I wanted to come meet you sooner, but with the library getting ready to open I’ve been really busy.”

“Wow, a library run by none other than Belle.” I said smiling. “I bet it’s going to be nothing short of amazing.”

“Thank you.” Belle said. “Do you like to read?”

“When I can power through it, yeah I do.” I said. “I have Dyslexia, see, so it makes it really difficult to read.”

“What kind of books do like to read?” Belle asked. Belle and I went back and forth, talking about books. It was great, almost living out an old childhood wish of mine.

            A few minutes later I was curious to see more magic from the Enchanted Forest. Belle had to persuade Mr. Gold to show me even the smallest amount of magic. First he created a fireball in his hand, like the way Cora did last night, and then he levitated a dusty old chest. The last thing he showed me was teleporting the jade magatama I was looking at earlier from its case to his hand.

“I should get going.” I said after looking at the clock.

“It was nice meeting you Tsuna.” Belle said.

“Actually Tsuna I have a question for you.” Mr. Gold said.

“What is it?” I asked.

“How exactly can you see through the Curse?” he asked. “You knew Belle the moment you saw her, and you saw my more…beastly visage from the Enchanted Forest. How?”

“I have theory about that actually.” I said.

“And that would be?”

“The magic that I am accustomed to is created by manipulating a substance called the Mist, mostly done by the children of Hecate.” I started. “The Mist is what ‘separates’ the Mortals from the realm of the gods. A sword, for example, would look like a baseball bat, or even a gun. On the other hand, a hellhound could appear as a normal dog. And, as you just told me that this town is made of magic, my status as a demigod must allow me to see through the surface of the Curse.” Before I left the store I looked back at Mr. Gold. “Oh, and I’m sorry that I attacked you to get answers.”

“It’s alright lad.” Mr. Gold said. “If I was constantly being lied to I’d want answers as well. Just don’t do it ever again.”

            Nodding my head I left the store. Relief just washed over me now that I knew the truth. Taking a deep breath I walked down Main Street. Everything just made sense now. I smiled at the townsfolk that I passed by. I wonder, what would happen to this place if the gods ever discovered it. Ares would want to drop a nuke, Athena would want to study them, and Zeus, well…Zeus would feel threatened, to say the least. But on the other hand, I bet everyone would love to come to Storybrooke. If nothing else, maybe just me and Nico could come for a visit.

            After about another hour of exploring Storybrooke I wanted something sweet. Luckily there was an ice cream shop downtown. I kept debating on what I was going to get, though it was between Mint Chip, Triple Chocolate, and Vanilla Bean. Oh! Maybe I’ll be able to get all three in one massive bowl…Don’t give me that look, I like me some ice cream.

            Before I got to Any Given Sundae I heard some screaming. That’s never good, especially in my life. And then I heard gunfire. Worried, I booked it towards the screams. And what I saw when I got there was the very thing I was afraid would happen since being in Storybrooke.

            The Minotaur was here in town wreaking havoc. It was roaring and flipping cars, scaring the people of this town. It must be hunting for me. I kind of just stood there as the townsfolk ran past in one huge wave. Emma was shooting at the monster, though that’ll work as well as bee stings. David, or Prince Charming as Mr. Gold explained, was there with a sword in hand. Mary Margret (aka the Princess of Heart Snow White) was firing arrows at the creature, which turned its attention to her.

That snapped me out of my shock. “Mary Margret run!” I yelled. I grabbed a large piece of asphalt and shot putted it at the back of the Minotaur’s head. It turned to me. “Remember me ugly?!”

            It growled and started to come at me, but it screeched for no apparent reason and clutched at its chest before turning its attention back onto Mary Margret. That-that’s not supposed to happen. Monsters are supposed to attack demigods, especially me because of my lineage, and Snow White isn’t a demigod! In that instant I had my sword appear in my hand and ran at the Minotaur to protect Snow White.

            Once I got close I stabbed through the Minotaur’s thigh. It roared, and for gaining its attention I was rewarded with an attempted stomp of its hoofed foot. I rolled out of the way and then sliced its calf, causing it to fall over. Using its arms as leverage it tried to mule kick me. Just as I side stepped it the Minotaur slammed me to the ground. It held me there, crushing me as it put more of its weight into its arm.

“Hey!” someone yelled.

            The Minotaur looked over its shoulder, only to get a face full of fire. It took its hand off of me and tried to wipe the flames out of its eyes. Emma ran over and helped me up before she dragged me over to a car that was turned onto its side. David and Mary Margret were there too.

“What are you doing Tsuna?!” Emma asked. “You shouldn’t be here!”

“I can’t just leave you to fight that by yourselves!” I argued as I looked over the car. Regina (the Evil Queen that Rumpelstiltskin had cast his curse) was using magic to try to defeat the Minotaur.

“What is that thing anyway?” Emma asked.

Without even trying, David, Mary Margret, and I said at the same time “The Minotaur.”

“Really?” Emma whined. “First dragons and now this? What else is real?” Emma looked down at my sword. “Tsuna, where did you get that sword?”

“Are you from the Enchanted Forest?” asked David.

“No, I’m not.” A fireball flew over our heads. “Can we discuss this later?”

“He’s right.” Mary Margret said, notching an arrow to her bow. “We can’t leave Regina alone to fight that beast.” She stood up and fired five arrows, one right after another. The arrows hit the back of the Minotaur, lining up along its spine. Damn, she’s a good shot. Not as good as Will, but then again I’m sort of biased towards my favorite ray of sunshine.

In retaliation the Minotaur grabbed a car and tossed it in our direction. “Move!” I yelled. David dragged Mary Margret in one direction and I took Emma in the other. Just in time too, since the car that the Minotaur threw slammed into the one we were using as a shield.

“What does that thing want?” Emma asked.

“Me.” Emma gave me a concerned look. “It wants me Emma.”

“But wh-” The Minotaur roared again, interrupting Emma’s question.

“Just distract that thing the best you can.” I said. “I’m the only person who can kill it.”

“With what?” Emma asked. “Even Regina’s magic isn’t doing anything to it.”

“With this.” I said raising my sword. “I just need to get close enough for a fatal blow.”

“We’ll do the best we can.” Emma said. I watched her reload her gun.

“Once you get its attention I want to run.” I said. “Your gun might as well be a pea shooter. Only Magical Metals can really hurt monsters.”

            Emma nodded and ran towards Mary Margret and David. I snuck closer, watching them fight against the Minotaur. Regina, Mary Margret, and David seemed to know what they were doing as far as fighting the Minotaur. Once Emma got the creature’s attention, she and the others ran up the street, making the Minotaur chase after them.

            While it’s attention was on the others I made my move. I ran out right in front of the charging Minotaur. I raised my sword and braced myself. The Minotaur saw me, but it couldn’t stop itself now. I kicked off the ground when the Minotaur was close enough, and rammed the Ame no Murakumo through its heart.

The Minotaur roared in pain…but it didn’t die. “What the-?!” I managed to say before the bull man gripped me tight and started to squeeze harder.

            Impossible. I know I hit his heart. I was Loki and the Minotaur was Phil Coulson…okay, a little dark of a comparison, but my point still stands. His heart should have been torn in half with that attack. How can something live without a heart. Before the Minotaur could break my ribs again a swirl of purple smoke surrounded me again and when it cleared I was standing next to Emma and the others.

“Get out of my town monster.” Regina said. She summoned a pretty large fireball in her hand and threw it at the Minotaur.

            When the smoke cleared the Minotaur didn’t look all that wounded. Before it did anything else the monster yanked my sword out of its chest and tossed it to the ground. It roared again and charged at us. Regina teleported us to safety to the roof of a building.

“How are we supposed to kill that thing?” Regina asked. “It’s impervious to my magic.”

“It should have died when I stabbed it through the heart.” I yelled.

“Well, clearly you missed.” Regina said.

“How the hell could I miss?!” I argued. “I know where a heart is in a body, your _majesty_. It should have died and turned to dust. That’s the way Percy killed it the first time, and all he used was a piece of its horn. It’s like it doesn’t have a heart.”

The four adults looked at each other knowingly. “Someone must have stolen its heart and is controlling it.” Regina said.

“What?!” I asked loudly. “Wait, forget it. How am I supposed to kill that thing then?”

“There’s more than one way to kill someone.” Regina said.

“You would know Regina.” countered Mary Margret. And if looks alone could kill Mary Margret would have been atomized. Jeez I never knew Regina could be this scary.

I realized something. “No, she’s right.” I said. “And I know just the way.”

            We huddled up as I told them my plan. It was nearly as dangerous as having Percy rocket me towards the Orochi. Regina ‘smoked’ us to the ground. As Mary Margret  ran to start the plan I sprinted for my sword. Grabbing it I saw Mary Margret firing arrow after arrow at the monster, though she was almost out. When the monster got close to Mary Margret David swooped in and swung his sword, just barely nicking it. It went to swipe at them only to get a palm of smoke as Regina teleported them out of the way.

            The Minotaur was in position thanks to Mary Margret and David. They led it to a fire hydrant, where I used my powers to make the water explode. The force slammed the hydrant right in the Minotaur’s chin, making it take a few steps back. Using the water that is starting to flood the street Regina made ice, which caused the Minotaur to slip and fall. As it landed face first onto the icy road I made my move. I ran at it ready to run my sword through its skull. But it reacted in enough time to angle itself out of the way in just the right way I was only able to cut off a small piece of one of its horns.

            It pushed me to the ground and took off running. I wasn’t going to let this thing get away. It has already caused enough harm as it is. Right before I went around the corner I heard a scream, and I knew who it was.

“Belle!” I yelled. I ran faster and rounded the corner to see Belle in the Minotaur’s grasp. Mr. Gold came running out the door when I arrived.

“Let go of her this instant!” yelled Mr. Gold. Before he could even cast a spell the Minotaur kicked him to the ground.

“Gold!” I screamed. The Minotaur started squeezing Belle and causing her to scream. “Put her down now!” Its response was to squeeze Belle tighter.

“Tsuna, what’s going on?” Emma asked after she and Regina regrouped with me. She saw Belle and gasped.

“Regina, get her away from the monster.” I ordered.

“I’ve been trying.” Regina said. Her hands were glowing in purple energy. “It’s like something is preventing me from using my magic on Belle.”

The Minotaur was thrashing about before a dark red glow covered him. “You have to help me save Belle.” Mr. Gold said as he appeared next to us. “This creature is stronger than it appears. I don’t know how long I can hold him.”

“Keep the Minotaur still for as long as you can.” I said. “Emma, keep the Minotaur’s attention on you. When I give the signal Regina, fling me at the Minotaur.”

“And get yourself killed?” Emma asked. “I don’t think so.”

“I have a plan.” I said.

“Whatever you do, do it fast.” Mr. Gold said. “He’s breaking my hold.” He’s right; the Minotaur was slowly struggling out of Mr. Gold’s spell. As I ran for the Minotaur’s back Emma was unloading her magazine in the Minotaur.

“Regina, now!” I yelled.

            Using her magic I was thrown onto the Minotaur’s back. But as I landed a red glow rippled around the Minotaur. Mr. Gold’s spell was broken. The Minotaur snorted and thrashed about, trying to get me off. I was holding onto its neck so I wasn’t thrown off after all this trouble. I needed to hurry, because Belle wouldn’t last much longer.

“Regina, Gold, hold him down!” I yelled. With their magic he went still enough for me to kill him. I raised my sword and rammed it through the skull of the Minotaur, scrambling its brains. I leaned in to this bastard’s ear. “This time stay dead.”

            As the Minotaur turned into monster dust I jumped off its back. When Belle fell from its dead hand Mr. Gold magically caught her and carefully set her down. I ran over to see how badly she was hurt, and it didn’t look good. She had large bruises all over her body, blood was trickling out of her mouth, and she was barely breathing.

“Why aren’t you healing her?” I asked.

“I’m trying.” Mr. Gold said. “There-there’s too much damage. Even my magic can’t save her.”

            Belle doesn’t deserve to die. There has to be a way to save her. I saw water flowing down the street. It had to be from the hydrant I blew up. Wait a minute, if magic can’t help Belle, then maybe I can.

“I can save her.”

“How?!” yelled Mr. Gold. “You don’t have magic!”

“I have something just as good.” I said. “If you get me and Belle to the ocean I can save her.” Hope shined in Mr. Gold’s eyes.

“How exactly can you do that?” Regina asked.

“Because he is the son of a sea god.” Mr. Gold said.

“A demigod?” Regina said. “I thought they were myths?”

“Apparently not.” said Mr. Gold.

“But how can he be a-?” started Regina.

“We can talk about this later!” I screamed. “We need to get Belle to the ocean NOW!” All of a sudden I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach. I looked over my shoulder and saw the dust that the Minotaur left behind was coming back together. “Madam Mayor, you need to do everything in your power to keep the Minotaur from reforming.” Regina nodded.

“I’ll call an ambulance.” Emma said as she got out her cell.

“Don’t bother.” said Mr. Gold. As he waved his hands dark red smoke covered us and when it went away we were waist deep in cold ocean water. I could just barely see the clock tower from here. “Now save Belle, or I will kill you.”

“Threaten me all you want _Rumpelstiltskin_ , but remember you are literally in my element.” I said as I took Belle’s hand. I really hate being threatened, even when I’m trying to help. “ _Please let this work Dad_.”

            I held Belle’s hand and focused on the water healing her. In the past I’ve been able to heal the small injuries I saw on Nico (which got me extremely worried, but now’s not the time for that) and I’ve healed myself of injuries as serious as Belle’s, but not another person to this degree. I threw another prayer at Dad, and then prayed to Poseidon, to make this work.

“It’s not working!” Mr. Gold cried after a few minutes.

“ _The damage must be too great_ …” I thought. I need someone with skill at healing. I need Will, or Apollo-“Wait a minute!”

            Raising my free hand to my chest the Yasakani no Magatama glowed in a gold-ish red light and floated into my hand. A chain of light connected each of the seven jewels. Taking Belle’s hand out of the water I wrapped it around our joined hands. Then a comfortable warm light, like pure sunlight, shines from the Magatama and flowed into Belle. The light became so intense that I had to look away. Once the light fades Belle took a deep breath.

Reaching up Belle caressed Mr. Gold’s cheek. “Rumple.”

“Belle.” Mr. Gold said smiling. He grabbed her hand for comfort, before they kissed each other. Embarrassed, I looked away. “Thank you.”

“You saved my life Tsuna.” Belle said.

“It’s what I do.” I said. I could hear sirens getting closer to us. Emma must have told the hospital to get here when Mr. Gold puffed us to the beach. And Emma herself must be on her way as well.

“I think you’re going to have some explaining to do to the town my boy.” Mr. Gold said when we walked on the beach. Belle started shivering so I dried us all. “Your bout with the Minotaur caused quite the mess in town.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…Do you know any good lawyers?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are appreciated.
> 
> Also, please check out my superhero AU story The Rise of Riptide from my new side series The Olympians and tell me what you think.


	5. Rumpelstiltskin's Offer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all have enjoyed the third installment of the Umi no Musuko series.

            The town hall was stuffed with all the townsfolk of Storybrooke. It’s like every last resident packed themselves in here, just to hear what my explanation of the Minotaur was. The people who I didn’t personally know looked either scared or angry with me. It’s not like I brought the Minotaur on a leash into the town and told him to wreck the place.

            Everyone was yelling at each other, which, coupled with the fact that I was sitting at a desk in front of them, made me very uncomfortable. Emma and the Charming’s, as Regina and Mr. Gold call Mary Margret and David, were trying to quiet everyone down. Mr. Gold, my acting lawyer, was sitting next me looking unamused. Ruby was with the crowd with Henry next to her. She sent a smile my way, which I was thankful for. I had finished explaining my status as a demigod to them, and they all were antsy, because apparently in the world of the Enchanted Forest demigods were known to be more dangerous than someone called the Dark One, despite being legends.

“The Curse just broke.” yelled a man with a face filled with stubble. He was one of the Renaissance miners I saw with Mary Margret yesterday. “Then _he_ comes here and we get attacked by a giant bull man.”

“Calm down Leroy.” Granny said.

“It’s his fault!” a resident said as she sharply pointed her finger at me. That stung a bit. “He brought the monster here!”

Everyone started mobbing for me to be kicked out of Storybrooke. “Tsuna’s not going anywhere!” Emma yelled.

“Someone has to pay for the property damage!” someone else said. “Especially for my Miata!”

“And who do you expect to pay Doc, huh?” Mary Margret asked.

“He should!” yelled Leroy, pointing at me. Yatagarasu, who was perched on my shoulder, cawed at him.

“Actually,” Mr. Gold spoke, “My client does not have to pay anything.”

“Why is that, ‘Stiltskin?” asked Leroy.

“For one thing Dearie, he’s a minor.” said Mr. Gold. “You can’t possibly hold a sixteen year old responsible. And another thing, Dwarf, is that he has already been in town for a few days, and in that time the Minotaur never came to town. From what my client has told me, creatures like the Minotaur go after people like Tsuna. It wasn’t until yesterday that the monster came, and it isn’t like it went straight for Mr. Noble here. It focused its attention on the Charming family.”

“Then how are we supposed to fix the town?” asked a random citizen of Storybrooke.

As the townsfolk started bickering I raised my hand, something they weren’t expecting. “Uh, isn’t this town full of people who can use magic?” I asked. “You have Mr. Gold here, and the-this is really weird for me to say- the Evil Queen, and a whole convent of fairies. Couldn’t you all work together and whip up a spell or something?”

“Magic doesn’t work like that.” Regina said.

“Are we in danger of more attacks?” asked some random concerned mother.

I shook my head. “There would be a lot more monsters here by now if there was. Monsters are able to track demigods through a special scent that we give off cause of a curse cast on demigods thousands of years ago. It’s like they can’t smell me here.”

“Then how did the Minotaur find you?” asked Mother Superior (“The Blue Fairy.” Mary Margret told me earlier.)

“The night I came to Storybrooke I was being chased by it.” I said. “So it followed me into town. The first night I was able to scare it off. Yatagarasu, my friend here, was really hurt trying to protect me, and I wasn’t in that great of shape, as some of you remember from that night, and I needed to get the both of us to safety. Though I don’t know why the Minotaur just now decided to attack the town.”

            The town meeting went on with everyone bickering with each other. A lot of it had nothing to do with me or the Minotaur attack, so I was just sitting there awkwardly. It wasn’t until Mary Margret and David finally calmed them down when the meeting ended. They even elected a local carpenter named Marco (“Geppetto” Emma said, you know, from Pinocchio) to be the head of the rebuilding committee.

            I tried to offer my help, since the Minotaur was hunting me originally, but all the townsfolk brushed me off. And by all, I mean all. Not a single person wanted my help. Despite Emma and the Charming’s claim I wasn’t at fault, and with Mr. Gold defending me, they were still wary of me. No matter what I did they just brushed me off, even by the nun fairies. Disappointed, I walked straight to Granny’s Diner. Yatagarasu flew to my shoulder and nuzzled his head against my cheek, but it didn’t help.

I let out a loud sigh after I sat down at the counter and laid my head on my crossed arms. Ruby noticed and took pity on me by giving me a piece of pie a la mode. “What’s wrong Tsuna?”

“It’s nothing.” I said, just poking at the pie with my spoon. “The town just doesn’t like me.”

“I like you.” Ruby said while wiping the counter down. “So does Emma and Snow, Granny too.” Ruby grabbed a spoon for herself and took a bite out of my pie. “You have more friends here than you think.”

“I just feel guilty.” I said. “The Minotaur was hunting me down. It followed me here and damaged a lot of Storybrooke. I feel like I should help in the repairs, but everyone just kicks me to the curb.”

“You shouldn’t let anyone get to you Tsuna.” Ruby said. “It’s not that they don’t like you, it’s just…the Dark Curse was just broken not too long ago. Did anyone tell you why it was cast?”

“Mr. Gold told me that Regina cast it to get revenge on Snow White, and that it took away everyone’s happy endings.” I said.

“Mr. Gold would know how it works.” Ruby said bitterly. “What I’m trying to say Tsuna, is that the Dark Curse literally ripped our happy endings from us. And ever since Emma broke the Curse everyone is scared that anything will happen to take it away from them.”

“That’s terrible.” I said.

“I know, but still, just shrug off what everybody is saying.” Ruby said. “And remember that you will always have friends in Storybrooke.”

“Thanks Ruby.” I said smiling.

            Ruby went to do her other duties as head waitress, so I decided to enjoy the free pie. It was pretty good, made from freshly picked blackberries from what Ruby told me. Granny must have baked it earlier this morning because it was still a little warm. Ruby and I talked as I ate and while she worked. She told me all about her adventures in the Enchanted Forest (turns out that in reality Red Riding Hood is actually a werewolf), and I told her about the quest in Japan.

“I figured I’d find you here Mr. Noble.” Turning on the bar stool I saw Mr. Gold walking in.

“Hello Mr. Gold.” I said. “How can I help you?”

“Actually, I’m here to help you.” he said.

“You don’t have help me anymore than you already have.” I said. “I think the townsfolk were easier on me because of who you are. Thank you for that, by the way.”

“Not a problem. Fear is a powerful motivator.” said Mr. Gold.

“Sounds just like you Rumpelstiltskin.” Granny said as she walked by. Mr. Gold ignored her.

“If you would follow me to my shop, I have something to show you.” he said.

“Okay.” I said, wiping my mouth with napkin. “See you later Ruby.” She waved goodbye.

            Once we were back in Mr. Gold’s shop he led me to the back room. It was filled with more antiques and some random stuff which looked like junk to me. On the desk, however, was something weird. It was golden tripod thing, with what looked like a crystal pendulum in the center. It was standing on a large map of the United States.

“What’s this thing?” I asked.

“This, Tsuna, is the way we are going to find your brother.” Mr. Gold said after flicking the tripod.

“Really?!” I asked happily. “How?”

“This is a type of locator spell.” started Mr. Gold. “The pendulum will swing around randomly until it stops over the location of the desired person you are looking for.”

“Thank you Mr. Gold.” I said. “But, I have to ask, why? People have been telling me not to trust you, due to who you are.”

“I do nice things, when I feel like it.” Mr. Gold said. “But the reason why I’m helping you? A long time ago, I lost someone very important to me. My son Baelfire. So I devoted my life to finding him, which led me to creating the Dark Curse that brought all of us here. I know what it’s like to lose someone you love Tsuna. And if it wasn’t for you, I would have lost Belle too. This is my way of repaying you.”

“Thank you.” I said. “So how do we work this spell?”

“We need something to fuel the spell.” explained Mr. Gold. “The price for this specific magic. Do you have anything of your brother’s on you?”

I shook my head. “I don’t have anything personal of Percy’s.” I said.

“Hmm.” Mr. Gold scratched his chin in contemplation. “It doesn’t have to be a personal belonging of his. Do you have anything symbolizing the bond the two of you have?”

“No, I don’t- wait, hold on, I think I do, actually.” I pulled out the other picture I had in my wallet. It wasn’t anything too special. It was just me and Percy wrestling each other on the beach at Camp. “Do you think pictures work?”

“Perhaps.” said Mr. Gold as I handed him the picture. He looked at it and let out a small smile. “The bond of brothers, very powerful magic.”

            He placed is free hand over the picture. When he moved his hand the picture was gone, replaced with this magical energy. I was a little peeved that the picture was destroyed, but it’ll be worth it if it means I can find Percy. Waving his hand Mr. Gold had the energy flow into the crystal pendulum.

“Now, touch the top of the pendulum and think about your brother.” he instructed. “Then make it move. The spell will do the rest.”

“Right.” I said nodding.

            Doing as I was told I started the spell. The pendulum glowed and began to move erratically across the map. It was circling randomly, spinning faster and faster. I sent a prayer to the gods to this to work. A minute later the pendulum stopped glowing and stopped moving completely.

“It-it stopped.” I said. “Is that a good thing?”

“No, it’s not.” Mr. Gold let out a sigh. “I’m sorry Tsuna.”

“No…” I started crying. The locator spell, it didn’t work. It couldn’t find Percy because he’s…he’s…dead. I needed to get out of this place. In a fit of pure grief I ran out of the shop.

“Tsuna wait!” Mr. Gold yelled out. I ignored him and ran deep into the woods.

            After a while I slowed down and took a breath. I was pretty deep in the woods, but I should be able to find my way back. If all else fails, I can always signal for Yatagarasu to find and lead me out, since he tends to keep me within his line of sight. But I needed a few minutes to myself. I found a grand looking tree and decided to sit down for a bit so I can think.

            I can’t believe Percy’s dead. I don’t know how I’m going to tell Annabeth and Sally. But magic can’t be black and white with its results. I need more proof before I report in to Camp. If I can just find Nico he can get me to the Underworld, then maybe I can see if I can find Percy’s spirit. I need…closure.

            A twig snapped, making me jump. I got to my feet and brought out my sword, ready for anything. I jumped out from my cover, expecting a monster or something, but who I did see surprised me.

“Cora?” I said as I lowered my sword. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard the Minotaur went into town.” she said. “I was worried that you were hurt.”

“Thanks for the concern.” I said as my sword went into its ring form.

Cora stared at me for a second. “Would you mind walking with me?” asked Cora. “I do get lonely, and you look troubled.”

“Sure.” I said. She offered out her arm and I hooked my arm around hers. We walked deeper into the forest, passing an old toll bridge.

“You know it must be amazing be a demigod.” Cora said. “The legends of your kind in the Enchanted Forest depicted you all as very powerful beings, second only to the gods themselves.”

“It’s not as glamorous as you’d think.” I said.

“But you have the power of the gods within you.” Cora argued.

“A fraction of their power.” I said. “When I was fighting the Orochi, the greatest evil in the Shinto pantheon, it took a lot of me from the continuous use of my abilities. Summoning lightning storms, controlling water, those are just examples of what I can do. And using these,” I pointed out the Three Sacred Regalia, “Drained me to the point where it felt like they were draining my very life.”

“These Treasures of yours,” she started, “I can sense that they hold a lot of power in them.”

“They are the greatest Treasures in my pantheon.” I said. “You could compare them to Zeus’s Master Bolt or Poseidon’s Trident. But, after my friends and I saved Japan, my father Susanoo sealed their power in order to appease Zeus, well, Hera more than anyone else.”

“And your Treasures, what do they do?” Cora asked. All of her questions were starting to make me uneasy, but she hasn’t given me a reason not to trust her, especially after saving me the other night.

“Well, the Yata no Kagami, this mirror,” I started, “Holds the power to create illusions and make them reality. My ring is actually the Ame no Murakumo, the sword of my father. It enhances my water based abilities when I’m in desperate need. And these red jewels are the Yasakani no Magatama. They can enhance the abilities of others and can heal anyone of any injury, as far as I know. I haven’t really explored too much of their abilities myself, so what I told you is all I can do with them.”

“So that’s how you saved that girl.” Cora said. “By using the power of your necklace.”

“Yeah I-hold on…” I said. “How-how did you know about that?”

Cora unlinked her arm from mine and gave me a smile that gave me a bad feeling. “Because I was watching you dear.” Before I could even move I was flung against a tree. I tried moving but it was like I was being held there by some unknown force. No, it wasn’t unknown to me now. It was magic.

“What are you doing?!” I yelled struggling.

“When I saved you, I never expected that you would have gotten in my way.” she said

“What?”

“I sent that monster to kill Snow and Emma, and then you had to come along as save them.” Cora explained.

“Why would you attack Emma and Mary Margret?” I asked. “They’re the nicest-”

“I have my reasons.” Cora said.

“How could you have sent the Minotaur into Storybrooke?” I asked. “You can’t control the Minotaur; nothing short of a Titan can make it listen to anyone.”

“That probably would normally be true,” she said as she ran a finger down my chest (CREEPY!), “But you see, if you have someone’s heart-” And then she did something I thought impossible. She plunged her hand into my chest. I choked out a scream as her hand went deeper. And when she pulled back, she was holding my…my…my heart. “-You can control that very person.” She held my heart up to get a better look. “What a lovely heart. Not even tainted by darkness.”

            It’s terrifying, seeing your heart out of your body. I didn’t even know how I was alive, but it had to be because of magic. Magic must be what is making my heart glow too. It was glowing in this sea green light, surrounded by a slight golden aura.

“Give it back!” I yelled. Cora smiled cruelly and squeezed my heart. I felt intense pain as I heard something like glass cracking. I then realized that it was my _HEART_ that was cracking.

“Now, hopefully that’ll teach you not to talk back to a queen.” Cora said.

“What are you really queen of you little bit-ARGH!” I screamed as she squeezed my heart again.

“I am the Queen of Hearts.” said Cora.

“The…Queen of…Hearts…?” I said between breaths. “From…Wonder…land?”

Cora nodded and looked at my heart again. “You know Tsuna, compassion, trust, love, _especially_ love, are weaknesses given to a person by their heart.”

“What are you going to do with my heart?” I asked fearfully.

“Oh, I have something special planned for you.” Cora said. “You see, when hearts are taken, they become enchanted, allowing me to do many interesting things. For example-” She squeezed my heart again. “I could crush your heart to dust, killing you. But since you killed the Minotaur, I’m going to make you kill Snow White and that stupid girl Emma.”

            No, I can’t…not Emma, not anyone! I don’t want to hurt anyone in town. But, if what Cora said is true, I’ll have no choice. At that time, all of the Three Sacred Regalia started glowing in godly energy, as if they knew I would never do what Cora wants me to do. But Cora noticed them glowing and used her magic to teleport the Treasures to her hand. I felt so defenseless and so…naked without my necklace and my ring.

Cora waved the Treasures in her hands, making a mockery of my heritage. “Do you really think jewelry can save you?” she asked. “They might wield great power within, but nothing can stop what’s going to happen.” She waved her hand, making me fall to the ground. As I slumped in defeat she gripped my heart tightly. “Now, you are going to go back into town. You’re going to meet up with Snow and Emma. You already have their trust, so they will let you get close. And then, you will kill them.”

“No…I can’t.” I said through gritted teeth. Not one to be deterred by such a thing Cora squeezed my heart tighter.

“You don’t have a choice in the matter.” she said. “You _will_ do as I say, or I will kill you.”

I looked up from the ground, feeling anger boil to the top of my very being. “No…I…WON’T!!”

            My heart started glowing brightly, as did the Three Sacred Regalia. Glowing white hot the Treasures burned Cora’s hand, making her drop everything. I felt the pain from my heart hitting the ground. Since she was distracted from the pain in her hand I dove for my heart, as it was the most important thing there. As I held my heart close to my chest in order to protect it a furious Cora used her magic to choke me.

“You stupid stupid boy!” Cora yelled. “I should have let those monsters killed you. Creatures like you are far too dangerous to be kept alive!”

            As she created a large fireball in her hand, I kept thinking over and over that I didn’t want to die again. I want to see my friends again, and find out what happened to Percy. I need to apologize to Will for what I did and set thing right between us. And, more than anything, I just wish to see Nico again, and tell him the truth.

            The moment Cora threw the fireball I screamed, out of fear and anger. At that moment, an ocean blue pulse of…something…erupted from my body. It extinguished the fireball midflight and sent Cora flying out of sight. I fell to the ground, not sure what happened. I sat there for a few minutes waiting for Cora to come back, but she didn’t. So I stood up and kept my heart close to my chest as I picked up the Treasures.

            I had no idea what to do now. My heart was _ripped_ out of my chest. How am I supposed to put it back in? And cutting my chest open is not an option. My only option is Mr. Gold and his magic. So I made my way back to the pawn shop. During my walk back I noticed how I was starting to feel empty inside, as if all my emotions were gone, or at the very least dulled.

“I was wondering where you went.” said Mr. Gold as I entered the store. He didn’t even look up from his little project.

Walking up to the front desk I carefully held out my heart. “Please…Help me.”

“What happened?” He said, his eyes going wider at the sight of my heart.

“I was attacked by a woman named Cora.” I sobbed out.

“Cora!” He asked. “She made it here?” I nodded.

“She’s the one who sent the Minotaur into town by taking its heart.” I said. “She wanted it to kill Mary Margret and Emma.”

“That woman has had something against Snow White’s family for as long as I have known her.” said Mr. Gold.

“Could you put it back please?” I asked as I held my heart out to him again.

“Of course.” he said, coming around the counter and taking my heart. Despite that he was going to help me, I was scared to give my heart to him. Once he had it in his hand Mr. Gold just stared at it for a minute.

“What’s wrong?” I asked quietly.

“Nothing.” said Mr. Gold. “You just don’t see hearts like this.”

“Why is it so different?” I wondered.

“I’m not sure why.” Mr. Gold said. “It could be your godly heritage, but since demigods were less than a rarity in the Enchanted Forest, I don’t know for sure.” He grabbed my shoulder and placed my heart over my chest. “This might sting a bit.” he warned. I nodded, and then he shoved my heart back into place.

            ‘Sting’ was an understatement. It hurt like hell, far worse than when it was being ripped out. If he didn’t keep trying to realign it probably would have hurt less. I gripped my necklace tight in my hand in order to try to distract myself from the pain. Once he pulled his hand out I felt normal again. After I put the Treasures back where they belonged (my hands shaking as I did), I placed my hand over my chest, just to be sure that my heart was there.

“Are you alright?” asked Mr. Gold.

“I-I don’t know.” I said shaking my head. My whole body had just started shaking.

“You should head back to Granny’s and get some rest.” Mr. Gold said. “You went through quite an ordeal.” I merely nodded in response. I didn’t move though, so Mr. Gold called Ruby and asked her to come get me. “Ruby’s shift ends in half an hour. You’re free to stay here until she gets you"

“Thank you.” I said. We didn’t say anything for the next fifteen minutes.

“You ran away before I could explain the spell, you know.” Mr. Gold said.

“What’s there to explain?” I asked. “The spell didn’t work. Percy’s dead.”

“I never said the spell didn’t work.” he said.

“But, the pendulum stopped moving.” I said, not understanding. “Doesn’t that mean Percy is dead?”

“This specific locator spell can find anyone.” he explained. “Whether they are alive or dead.”

“I’m not following.”

“Let’s put it this way.” he started. “If he _is_ dead, the spell would have still found his body.”

“So what, my brother doesn’t exist now?” I asked.

“That or something very powerful is hiding him.” said Mr. Gold.

“So Percy could still very well be alive?!” I asked.

“Exactly.”

            This is fantastic! Percy can still be alive! I need to go find him as soon as possible. But, who could be powerful enough to completely hide Percy Jackson? It had to be a god. There’s nothing more powerful…well, other than the Horseman I had dinner with.

“You’re hiding something.” Mr. Gold said as he eyed me. “What’s wrong?”

“When Cora st…stole my heart and my treasures, something happened.” I said. “Cora told me that enchanted hearts hold the power over the hearts owner. But I was able to completely ignore her order to kill Snow White and Emma, despite my heart being in her hands.”

“That’s impossible.” Mr. Gold said.

“Then how am I here and not with Emma and Snow White?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” Mr. Gold said. “It could be that it’s because you’re not from the Enchanted Forest. Or it could be that because you are a demigod your heart is stronger than most peoples.”

“The sea doesn’t like to be contained.” I mumbled to myself. That would make sense; with my connection to the sea I would be immune to the orders of others in that way. “That’s not the only thing that happened. When she held my heart and the Treasures, something blasted out from inside me, something that I know isn’t part of my abilities as a demigod.”

“If what you are telling me is true, then…” He plucked a few hairs from my head.

“Ow!” I yelled. “The hell was that for?!”

“Just wait.” Mr. Gold said. Out of nowhere a flask appeared in his hand, which he stuck my plucked hairs in. The interior of the flask glowed in a bright ocean blue, the same color my enchanted heart was. “Impressive.”

“What’s impressive?” I asked, rubbing the spot on my head where he plucked my hair.

Mr. Gold held up the glowing flask. “This is Dearie.” he said. “You have very powerful magic in you. I can see that you are not the most powerful wielder of magic I have met, but you are powerful none the less. Stronger than Regina, if given the proper training.”

“But that’s not possible.” I said. “I can’t use magic; I’m not a son of Hecate.”

“Very well Tsuna, but think back.” he instructed. “Has anything happened to you that you couldn’t even explain with your demigod heritage?”

“No, not-” Wait, what did that kid Felix say? “Actually, there was a time where I had to break into a place in Brooklyn that was filled with magic from Egypt, long story there, and I was told that the main entrance could have only been opened with magic.” I let out moan of frustration. “Man, if Zeus ever finds out about this it’ll give him a reason to kill me.”

“Why would the king of the gods do that?” asked Mr. Gold.

“He already doesn’t trust me because I’m not only the son of Susanoo, but the descendant of Poseidon as well.” I explained. “He’ll think it as a way for me to gain power to usurp him.”

“Is he really like that?”

“Zeus is as paranoid as his father.” I said. The moment I said that I instinctively cringed, waiting for a sign of a pissed Zeus. But nothing came. No boom of thunder or flash of lighting. I can only assume that Storybrooke must be invisible to the gods since it was created with magic from another world.

“If you want, I can teach you a few things before you leave.” offered Mr. Gold.

“Wow, really?” I asked. Mr. Gold nodded. “I’m honored by the offer, but I need to get back to finding my brother. You said so yourself, he could very well be alive, just hidden somewhere.”

“Ah, but think about how magic can help you.” Mr. Gold said. “After all Dearie, magic is power.” He’s right. I mean, I can only do so much. But with magic…

“Alright.” I said.

            Later that night Mr. Gold had me start my ‘training’. I really didn’t want to use that word, but who am I to argue with the ‘Dark One’? Mr. Gold was doing his own thing, making some type of potion. What for, he never said. Instead, he had me do something really trivial. I don’t see how lighting a candle really helps train me in using magic.

I was looking at a candle wick for the last forty minutes, giving it all my concentration. “Light damn you, light!” My face was feeling red with frustration.

“If you just let it go you would have lit the candle ages ago.” Mr. Gold said.

“I’m trying to focus here.” I said.

“That’s the problem.” Mr. Gold stood off his stool and came over. Without even doing anything he lit the candle and then killed the flame. “Magic is about emotion, not thought. You need to think of a moment when you were so angry you could have killed if you could.”

“I don’t want to use magic in anger or hate.” I said.

“Then you are weak!” he yelled and it made me cringe. “Magic is power, and you mustn’t be afraid of that power.”

“Even if it means I have to become like you Rumpelstiltskin?!” I yelled back. We stared at each other for a moment before I decided to leave.

“Where are you going?” asked Mr. Gold.

“I need some air.” I said as I walked out of the store.

            Actually I stormed out. Mr. Gold made magic seem so easy, and yet I couldn’t even light a stupid candle. I was so deep in my thoughts that I ran into a blonde woman who was locking up her shop.

“Sorry.” I said. I tried to move on but she grabbed my arm.

“You look like someone who is running away from something.” she said.

“I’m not running away from anything.” I said.

“I can tell that you’re lying.” she said.

“How?” I asked. “Do you share Emma’s superpower?”

“The sheriff’s superpower?” she wondered. “No, I don’t. But I used to be a foster mother, so I know the signs of a runaway.”

“Well like I said, I’m not running away.” I repeated. This woman cradled her arms and looked like she was analyzing me.

“You’re the boy Sheriff Swan has been watching over.” she said. I nodded. “You were very brave fighting that monster.”

“Thanks.” I said.

“Would you like to come inside?” she asked. “You look like you need to talk. And some ice cream.”

“But aren’t you closed?” I asked.

“That’s the benefit of being the owner.” she said. “I can be here as long as I want. And the free ice cream is always a perk.”

            She pretty much forced me inside. She turned on all the lights and went in the back to turn off the alarm. Once back out to the front she introduced herself as Ingrid.

“So what flavor would you like?” she asked.

“A dish of chocolate and mint please.” I said.

She smiled. “Coming right up.”

            As she scooped up the ice cream I began to see her in her Enchanted Forest form. Her blonde hair was pulled back, with some of it framing her face. Her dress was as white as snow and sparkled like diamonds. She had a necklace shaped like a snowflake hanging from her neck. She almost looked like…

I was so lost in thought I didn’t notice her place a large bowl of ice cream in front of me. “Why were you staring?” she asked.

“Sorry, it’s just…” I started. “This is going to sound really weird, but…does the name…Elsa, mean anything to you?” Ingrid’s spoon clattered in her bowl.

“Why do you ask?” she asked, regaining her cool.

“You look a lot like her.” I said. “Is Elsa from the Enchanted Forest too?”

Ingrid stared at me before letting out a breath. “No, she and I are from Arendelle. I’m her aunt. How do you know about Elsa?”

“She and Anna were in a new Disney movie, Frozen.” I said. “Um, are you able to use the same magic as Elsa?”

“Yes.” Raising her hand Ingrid made a small snowman made of ice.

“What’s it like?” I asked. “Using magic?”

“You can use magic, can’t you?” she asked, diverting my question.

“Yeah, I discovered that I can use it earlier today.” I said. “Mr. Gold, er, Rumpelstiltskin, is teaching me a few things before I leave Storybrooke. But I can’t even light a candle.”

“Magic isn’t easy, even those naturally gifted like me.” said Ingrid. “When I first got my powers, I thought myself as a monster, and if it wasn’t for my sisters I would have lost control of my abilities. Over time, I accepted that my powers are a part of me and gained full control over them.”

“Mr. Gold said that to use magic I need to use the darkest emotions and memories to fuel my magic.” I said.

“Magic can be fueled by many things.” Ingrid said. “Witchcraft is mostly fueled by anger and hate, but love can be used as well.”

“Love?” I perked up a bit. “I think I can use that.” I said smiling.

“Is that why you were running?” asked Ingrid. “Because you don’t want to use anger or hate?”

“I don’t want to become corrupted.” I said. “Mr. Gold is nice and all, but I can see through the Dark Curse, I can see what darkness did to him.”

            Ingrid comforted me, saying that magic itself doesn’t corrupt, but people who use it for dark purposes are corrupted. As we ate our ice cream Ingrid told me about Elsa and Arendelle. They both sounded amazing, and I wouldn’t have minded if I ever got to visit them. Once we finished our ice cream I gave Ingrid a hug.

“Thank you.” I said. “You’ve been a great help.”

“What did I do?” She asked coyly, giving me a warm smile. “I just served you some ice cream and talked.”

“That’s what I needed.” I said. “Someone to talk to.”  Leaving Any Given Sundae with a new outlook on magic, I went back to Mr. Gold’s shop. To tell you the truth I was surprised Mr. Gold was still here.

“Can’t you see we’re closed?” Mr. Gold asked from the back. He came out to the front and saw me. “Oh, Tsuna. What do you want?”

“I have something to try.” I said. I walked to the back room and grabbed the candle I was using earlier. I brought it out to the front and placed it on the counter.

“So are you ready to actually use magic?” Mr. Gold asked.

“I am, but I have my own way.” I said.

“Your own way?” he asked with a raised eye.

            I nodded to him. I then closed my eyes and took deep, calming breathes, centering my thoughts. Love is a powerful emotion, if the Aphrodite Cabin is anything to go by. And if Ingrid is right as well, I just have to focus on what- on who I love. I thought about both mom and dad, and how I know that their love is always with me. And then there’s the love and kindness Sally and Paul have given me ever since I have known them.

            My friends are one of my greatest sources of love. They have been supporting me since day one, and I couldn’t be happier. I couldn’t even narrow down the moments of the brotherly love between me and Percy. I looked back to Will, my favorite ray of sunshine, and what a great person he is in my life and what he means to me. And then, with my heart feeling warm in my chest at the thought, there was what I felt for Nico.

            I opened my eyes and stared at the candle. When the floor creaked I glanced at Mr. Gold, who seemed to be watching me intently. I took another breath just to calm my nerves and raised my right hand. And with a flick of my wrist, the candle lit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are appreciated.
> 
> Keep an eye out for the fourth installment where we tie in with the Heroes of Olympus in...
> 
> Brothers of the Sea.
> 
> Also, please check out my superhero AU story The Rise of Riptide from my new side series The Olympians and tell me what you think.


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